John Jefferson
Top inset: Portia Rowland (Irwin Chapel). Bottom inset: Sammy Shafer Jr. (Madison County Jail). Background: The location where Rowland was killed (KTVI).
An Illinois man is accused of hiring a hit man to kill his estranged wife’s girlfriend, who was shot to death in her driveway as she warmed up her car in the morning.
Sammy Shafer Jr., 36, is accused in the murder-for-hire that killed Portia Rowland, 32. Shafer is accused of orchestrating the plot, hiring the suspected shooter, Gary Johnson, 45, and an alleged accomplice and Johnson’s driver, Marty Shaw, 33. Each faces a charge of first-degree murder. Shafer also faces two counts of solicitation of murder, while Johnson also faces an additional charge of possession of a weapon by a felon.
Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas Haine described the incident as a “calculated and coldhearted murder-for-hire scheme based on a personal grievance.”
“It’s truly shocking, and it has left a real mark on our community and, of course, on their lives,” Haine said. “In our prosecution of the case, our goal is to send a clear message to those who would conspire to commit murder, conspire to bring violence into our community for any reason, that they will be found, that they will be prosecuted, that they will face severe consequences in the court of law.”
Rowland was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in her driveway outside her home in Collinsville, Illinois, some 15 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri, on Jan. 21. Authorities credited license plate reader technology for helping identify a suspect vehicle, leading to the arrests of Shaw in Missouri and Johnson in Illinois.
The defendants allegedly confessed, court documents said.
Court documents in Shaw’s case said he admitted to being hired to take a person by the victim’s residence to shoot the victim. He allegedly admitted to picking the shooter up, taking him to the victim’s neighborhood and dropping him off.
Johnson allegedly admitted to shooting Rowland after Shaw drove him to her home. Court documents in Johnson’s case said he walked down an alley and waited for the victim. He allegedly said he ran at her and shot her when she came out of her house.
Once the victim was on the ground, he fled, the document said.
He changed his clothing and then went to a casino, according to court documents.
Court documents in Shafer’s case said the driver admitted to “seeing Defendant the next day and being paid $10,000 for the murder.”
“Driver took $3,500 and gave $6,500 to Shooter,” the document said. “Shooter also admitted to being hired by Driver’s boss (Defendant) to do a murder and to shooting Victim.”
The killing stemmed from a personal grievance, Haine said without elaborating.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Shafer was in the process of divorcing his wife, who was in a relationship with the victim.
The newspaper reported that court documents in Shafer’s custody battle indicated that he allegedly threatened her, telling her that if she wouldn’t be with him, he would “do anything in his power to keep the kids away” from her.
Shafer’s wife told the newspaper that once her divorce was final, she and Rowland planned to get married and were in the process of starting to have their own child.
Rowland’s obituary said she will be remembered as a loving daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin, niece, aunt and friend who never met a stranger.
“She was truly a bright, shining light in this world and lifted the spirits of everyone she met,” the obituary said. “Portia enjoyed working with her hands and she worked as a mechanic for the Metropolitan Sewer District in St. Louis, MO. Portia was a talented athlete, and she excelled in playing flag football, volleyball and billiards. Her greatest joy was spending time with her family and hanging out with her friends. Portia will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her.”
Shafer is set to appear in court on Feb. 4.
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