Belleville-area man admits buying cocaine, denies double-murder charge
A Belleville-area man charged in a double homicide in Cahokia Heights told police he bought crack cocaine from one of the victims but denied killing anyone, according to information revealed in court Friday.
Shawn L. Williams, 54, was ordered by a judge Friday to remain in jail on two counts of murder. Williams is charged in the shooting deaths of Bruce A. Mason, 67, of Maryville, and Laniya Joyce White, 44, of Cahokia Heights, authorities said.
Williams was previously convicted of second-degree murder in Michigan in the 1990s and pleaded guilty to domestic battery in St. Clair County in January, according to information disclosed during his hearing.
Mason was found shot in a friend’s Toyota RAV4 on Dec. 12 in the 3900 block of Walnut Street in Cahokia Heights. White was found Dec. 13 inside her residence near the RAV4.
Charging documents filed by the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office allege that each victim was shot in the head.
The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis investigated the deaths and on Wednesday night announced the arrest of Williams, whose address is listed on Signal Park Lane in the Signal Hill community near the west side of Belleville.
St. Clair County Public Defender Cathy MacElroy represented Williams in his detention hearing Friday before St. Clair County Associate Judge Sara L. Rice.
“My client denies he committed these horrific offenses,” MacElroy told Rice.
MacElroy argued that White had a “high risk” lifestyle. “She is a known drug dealer,” MacElroy said of White. She also said Mason was “homeless” and that White allowed him to park the RAV4 in front of her home.
In making her ruling to detain Williams, Rice acknowledged evidence cited by St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney Levi Carwile.
Rice noted the evidence was circumstantial in nature but connected Williams to the location of the crime scene. Members of Williams’ family criticized Rice’s decision to detain him.
Tamika Johnson, 48, of Washington Park, said her brother should have been released because there is “no good evidence” against him.
She described her brother as “very caring.”
Evidence Revealed in Hearing
Williams is the “last person likely to have contact” with the two victims, Carwile said. Carwile said cellphone data shows Williams was in the 3900 block of Walnut Street in Cahokia Heights for about three hours on the afternoon of Dec. 12, which contradicts Williams’ statement that he was there for 10 minutes to buy crack cocaine from White and then walked home.
Carwile said the timeline offered by Williams is “not matching up.”
Williams used an app to pay White $20, Carwile said. Carwile also said audio recordings recovered by investigators indicate two gunshots were fired on the afternoon of Dec. 12 in the area.
A surveillance video from a business on Illinois 15 shows Williams walking west on the morning of Dec. 12 and then east along the highway, Carwile said. This corresponds to a path someone would use to walk from Signal Hill to Walnut Street in Cahokia Heights.
MacElroy told Rice that no weapon was recovered in the area where Williams was walking or during a search of Williams’ home.
Carwile did not release details of the second-degree murder case against Williams but noted that Williams was given a 20- to 40-year sentence in the Michigan Department of Corrections.
At the time of his arrest in the Cahokia Heights case, Williams was on probation for a domestic battery charge he had pleaded guilty to in January, Carwile said.
St. Clair County court records show Williams was arrested on Jan. 10 and pleaded guilty on Jan. 17 to a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery. He was placed on probation for two years.
A court order to detain Williams notes that the victim and Williams previously dated but still lived in the same home. Williams’ ex-girlfriend wrote in a petition for an order of protection that she woke up at 3 a.m. on Jan. 10 because Williams was on top of her and punching her in the face.
He demanded she unlock her phone but she refused, according to the petition.
“I screamed for him to stop and he continued,” the woman states in the request.
The woman’s daughter called the police and an officer soon arrived. Williams was then arrested at the home. Illinois judges have been conducting detention hearings since September 2023 for people charged with serious offenses. If a judge finds a person dangerous to the community, the person can be remanded to the county jail until trial, according to the state’s revamped criminal justice system that eliminated cash bail as part of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T, Act.
This story was originally published December 19, 2025 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Belleville-area man admits buying cocaine, denies double-murder charge."
