A man accused of starting a payroll scheme at an Aurora King Soopers distribution center and planning the killing of a supervisor who uncovered it was convicted of first-degree murder by an Adams County jury.

Jerrelle Aireine Smith, 44, was found guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday for the October 2021 death of Ryan Dillard, a new supervisor at the facility.

Smith was also convicted of racketeering and theft, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder conviction.

Smith was accused of working with several friends to steal from the Capstone Logistics-operated center by creating “ghost employees” to trick the payroll system, according to the district attorney’s office.

Dillard was hired on Oct. 4, 2021, as a supervisor and later learned of the scheme.

Smith then hired Michael Poydras, a former employee who was still in the payroll system and benefitting from the setup, to kill Dillard.

Poydras ambushed and fatally shot Dillard on Oct. 21, 2021, as Dillard left the facility at 1861 Tower Road to get breakfast for his employees, according to the district attorney’s office. Poydras was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole in July 2023.

“The facts of this case are like something out of a movie as they’re impossible to comprehend in real life,” District Attorney Brian Mason said in a statement Thursday. “Smith stole thousands and thousands of dollars from Capstone Logistics and then hired a beneficiary of that scheme to murder a fellow employee in cold blood.”

Smith’s sentencing is set for Sept. 6.

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Originally Published: August 30, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.