Charges filed in Granite City police shooting against man with criminal past
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct information about the circumstances of the shooting.
The man accused of shooting a Granite City police officer on Friday has been charged, authorities announced at a news conference Monday.
DJ W. Marshall, 26, of Granite City faces the following criminal charges:
- Attempted first-degree murder, a Class X felony
- Aggravated battery with a firearm, a Class X felony
- Possession of a firearm by a repeat felony offender, a Class X felony
- Possession of a firearm by a felon, a Class 3 felony
“All told, these charges carry penalty up to 100 years in prison,” Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said Monday.
No attorney is listed for Marshall in the court record.
The injured officer was taken to an area hospital and remains in stable condition, according to Granite City Police Chief Gary Brooks. Charging documents state he was shot in the abdomen.
Officials identified him Monday as Granite City Police Officer Tyler Timmons, 27. He has been with the department for four years.
“He’s a great guy,” Brooks said of Timmons. “... I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like him. He’s a man of many talents. We all love him here, and we wish him the best and want to see him make a full recovery.”
Marshall was arrested around 3 a.m. Saturday following a multi-agency manhunt in the city that included assistance from the FBI, U.S. Marshall Services and local law enforcement.
Tips from the public helped authorities identify and locate Marshall prior to his arrest, authorities said during the news conference in Granite City Monday afternoon. The Granite City Police Department had offered a $5,000 reward for information.
“To anyone who thinks that they’re going to come to Granite City to do violence to one of our officers, I have this to say: You will be identified, you will be hunted, you will be located and you will be brought to justice,” Brooks said at the news conference.
Shooting, hourslong manhunt
The shooting happened Friday afternoon in the 1500 block of Johnson Road, across the street from Pizza World. Timmons was responding to a call for a suspicious person in the area at around 2:19 p.m.
The state’s attorney’s office alleged in a court filing that when Timmons approached, the suspect “immediately brandished a firearm and shot Officer Timmons multiple times.” He fired five shots, striking Timmons twice, before fleeing the scene on foot, according to the document, which cited video footage.
Granite City School District 9 delayed student dismissal for several hours Friday at Frohardt Elementary School, 2040 Johnson Road.
A large police presence was reported outside a home on nearby Madison Avenue during the search for the suspect. Court records state the suspect was attempting to enter various residences of family and associates.
Video footage from the area showed the suspect fleeing and discarding clothing he was wearing during the shooting. Members of Marshall’s family told investigators the articles of clothing belonged to him, according to court records.
Marshall was arrested in an abandoned vehicle in the 2500 block of Missouri Avenue with a weapon “consistent with” the one used in the shooting, the state’s attorney’s office alleged in court records.
Suspect’s criminal history
Illinois State Sen. Erica Harriss, R-Glen Carbon, issued a statement Saturday calling Marshall “a violent repeat offender who should have been behind bars.”
“This never should have happened,” she wrote.
Marshall has been accused of three violent crimes since 2018, when he was about 19 years old.
In November 2018, he was charged with aggravated battery in Granite City involving a pregnant victim or a person with a disability, which is a felony. Two months later, in January 2019, he was charged with misdemeanor battery causing bodily harm in Madison.
As part of a plea agreement in the 2018 felony case, those charges were reduced to misdemeanor domestic battery causing bodily harm. Marshall was convicted and jailed for 47 days, with credit for time served. The battery charge from 2019 was dismissed as part of that plea.
Then in May 2021, Marshall faced felony charges of robbery and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in Granite City.
Both of those charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement in a 2019 felony burglary case. Additional felony charges of burglary and criminal damage to property between $500 and $10,000 in Granite City from April 2021 were dismissed in the same plea agreement.
Under the agreement, Marshall was sentenced to four years in prison in 2021, with credit for time served.
Marshall was also convicted in 2023 of burglary without causing damage in Bethalto and sentenced to two years in prison, with credit for time served.
Marshall’s most recent charge before Monday was aggravated fleeing from Granite City police on Aug. 11. He failed to attend two hearings scheduled for the case in October and had an active warrant for his arrest.
The Madison County state’s attorney’s and public defender’s offices enrolled Marshall in substance-abuse treatment in 2019 through the Assessment and Treatment Court, or drug court, but he was terminated from the program for multiple violations.
As part of his 2021 incarceration, Marshall also participated in an “impact program,” which can include community service activities, cognitive behavioral programming, life skills, reentry planning, education and counseling.
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 2:57 PM.
