Man pleads guilty, gets sentenced for murder outside O’Fallon restaurant

A St. Clair County Court Tuesday sentenced a Collinsville man to 40 years in prison for the 2022 shooting death of a 20-year-old employee of an Italian restaurant in O’Fallon.

Nathan T. Smith, who was 17 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for shooting Ivan J. Marshall in the parking lot of Bella Milano restaurant.

Smith is one of four involved in Marshall’s death who have been convicted of armed robbery charges. The others include:

• Darrayvia D. Crump, of Cahokia Heights, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison

• Nautica A. Young, of Cahokia Heights, who was sentenced to 21 years in prison

• Shadajah J. Denton, of Cahokia Heights, who received a 25 year prison sentence.

Another 17-year-old also was arrested in connection with the incident but was charged as a juvenile.

O’Fallon police responded to the report of a shooting in the parking lot of Bella Milano in the 400 block of Regency Park came at about 10 p.m. on May 22. Officers there found Marshall, who had been shot. He was taken to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators say Marshall was targeted by the group and that the shooting followed an unsuccessful attempt to rob him, according to the Major Case Squad Squad of Greater St. Louis in the days following the crime.

Marshall’s mother, DeAnda Marshall, said her son had worked at Bella Milano since 2019, starting out as a dishwasher and working his way to sous chef.

“He worked a whole lot, anywhere from 50 to 65 hours a week,” she said in an interview with the BND. “He saved his money to buy his first car. Before he was murdered he was saving money for him and his 23-year-old brother to have a two-bedroom apartment.

“He was a lively, vivacious young man. He was a hard worker. He believed in earning money and working hard for what you have.”

In a press release, the O’Fallon Police Department thanked the Major Case Squad, the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office, and others who assisted in the investigation.