Prosecutors preview evidence to be presented in Collinsville murder-for-hire case
A Caseyville businessman paid $10,000 to hire a hitman to shoot and kill his estranged wife’s girlfriend in Collinsville last week, according to a petition filed by prosecutors asking a judge to keep him in jail instead of allowing pretrial release.
That’s one of several details prosecutors are expected to present at detention hearings in Madison County Circuit Court next week for the husband, Sammy J. Shafer Jr., 36, and another defendant, Marty D. Shaw, 33, of Collinsville. A third defendant, Gary D. Johnson, 45, of East St. Louis, has waived his right to a detention hearing.
Johnson is accused of shooting Portia Rowland, 32, about 6 a.m. Jan. 21 outside a home at 1301 Olive St. in Collinsville that she shared with Sammy Shafer’s estranged wife, Sarah Shafer. Shaw is accused of being an accomplice and driving the getaway car.
The office of State’s Attorney Tom Haine charged all three men with first-degree murder, among other charges. All are being held in the Madison County Jail. Shafer’s detention hearing is set for Wednesday. Shaw was extradited from Missouri and booked at the jail on Thursday. He made his first appearance before a judge on Friday. His detention hearing was set for Monday.
The petition to deny pretrial release for Shafer states:
“Driver confessed to being hired by Defendant to kill Victim. Driver then contacts shooter and they go to Victim’s residence. Shooter waits outside for Victim to come out and then (shoots) Victim. Shooter then runs to where Driver is waiting. They then drive to Shooter’s residence where Shooter changes his clothes and they go to the casino.
“Driver also admits to then seeing Defendant the next day and being paid $10,000 for the murder. Driver took $3,500 and gave $6,500 to Shooter. Shooter also admitted to being hired by Driver’s boss (Defendant) to do a murder and to shooting Victim.”
The petitions to deny pretrial releases for Johnson and Shaw contain many of the same details.
The petition to deny pretrial release for Shaw alleges that video surveillance shows that Johnson waited outside for Rowland to exit the home before charging at her, shooting her and running away.
The petition to deny pretrial release for Johnson states:
“Defendant admitted to being hired (to) shoot the victim. He then admitted to being picked up and dropped off near victim’s home. He walked down the alley and waited for the victim to come. Victim exited once to start her car and then went back inside.
“Defendant also admitted when victim exited the second time, Defendant ran at her and shot her. Once victim was on the ground, he fled the scene. Defendant went and changed his clothing and then went to the casino with the driver.”
Collinsville Police Department called in the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis to do the initial investigation on Rowland’s murder, resulting in deployment of about 30 investigators. By the following day, they had released an image of a suspect from a security camera.
Investigators ultimately followed more than 200 leads and executed more than 30 search warrants, according to Collinsville Lt. Eric Owen, who served as deputy commander during the investigation.
Owen said investigators used license-plate readers to track a suspect vehicle, leading them to a Missouri address, where they took Shaw, the alleged driver, into custody last week with the help of St. Louis County Police. Prosecutors charged him with two counts of first-degree murder but kept charges under seal for several days while the investigation continued.
Investigators arrested Johnson, the alleged shooter, on Jan. 24 in Cahokia Heights and Shafer, the husband, on Saturday in Caseyville. Johnson is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of possession of a weapon by a felon. Shafer is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of solicitation of murder for hire.
The Major Case Squad held a press conference on Monday at Collinsville City Hall. Haine discussed the petitions that his office had filed, requesting that pretrial releases be denied for all three defendants.
“We have argued that they pose a continuing threat to public safety should they remain on the streets, and we intend to make that argument before the judge,” he said.
Rowland’s obituary stated that she was a 2010 graduate of Collinsville High School and worked as a mechanic for Metropolitan Sewer District in St. Louis.
Shafer is a well-known businessman who operates S. Shafer Excavating in Pontoon Beach with his father. Illinois Secretary of State records show that he’s also president of several other businesses, including a trucking company and Caseyville Bridge Inn, a bar on Main Street.
Sammy Shafer filed for divorce from Sarah Shafer in August 2023 after nearly 10 years of marriage, according to St. Clair County Circuit Court records. That case remains open. Negotiations have included parenting issues related to the couple’s three minor children, ages 7-14.
A Madison County judge granted Sarah Shafer a three-week order of protection from Sammy Shafer in April 2024.
In her request for the order, Sarah Shafer alleged that Sammy Shafer pinned her down, made unwanted sexual advances, took her vehicle keys, removed a fuse so the vehicle wouldn’t start, smashed her cellphone and threatened to keep the children away from her.
