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CEDAR RAPIDS In his initial interview with detectives, Andrew Shaw downplayed his relationship with the two individuals and denied recruiting them to kill Chris Bagley in 2018.
Shaw, who is accused of first-degree murder, acknowledged that he had encouraged a few people to attack Bagley, who then attacked and robbed him, but he had never asked Drew Wagner or Johnny Blahnik Church, who was once known as Drew Blahnik, to do so.
Shaw stated in a videotaped interview with Linn County Sheriff’s Maj. Dave Beuter and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation on March 26, 2019, that he only knew what he had heard from others regarding Bagley’s fate.
During Shaw’s trial in Linn County District Court on Thursday, the footage was shown.
Shaw claimed to have heard that Bagley created an altercation by pushing Wagner when he and Blahnik Church visited Paul Hoff’s mobile home. Additionally, he heard Blahnik Church grab a knife and Bagley reach for a gun.
There was a rumor that Shaw had hired someone to look after Bagley, Beuter informed Shaw.
Shaw claimed that he paid no one. He only warned a couple individuals to beat him up if they spotted Bagley. Shaw claimed that Bagley was the one who first spread the hit rumor.
Shaw, 37, of Cedar Rapids, is accused with first-degree murder as well as conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and solicitation to commit murder. A criminal complaint accuses him of hiring Wagner, 39, and Blahnik Church, 38, of Marion, to assassinate Bagley.
In this instance, Hoff, 46, who owned the mobile home where Bagley was killed, as well as Wagner and Blahnik Church were found guilty.
Shaw stated in the interview that he wasn’t sure why Bagley had robbed him, but he wasn’t alone.
Shaw informed the investigators that Chris had committed numerous robberies. He broke into Wagner’s home and robbed him.
He reiterated that he never paid Blahnik Church or Wagner for anything and never instructed them to do anything against Bagley.
Shaw said that he spoke with Bagley on Snapchat, telling him that people went missing every day and that Bagley was attempting to extort him. However, he assured Beuter that he wasn’t serious and was only attempting to frighten Bagley.
After watching the footage, Beuter recognized aerial images from December 15, 2018, the day after Bagley was slain, which revealed that the skid loader in Wagner’s yard had been backed up and facing the location of Bagley’s body. Authorities discovered lumber on top of the grave site the following day, and the skid loader was removed from the area.
According to Beuter, Shaw acknowledged that Wagner visited his store following Bagley’s murder and tossed away a few things. He also claimed to have defended himself when he killed Shaw.
Shaw found hiding from police during search of business
Prior to the interview, Shaw was arrested on federal marijuana-trafficking charges after police searched his Cedar Rapids home and his previous company, A Shaw Investments, located at 1186 Capitol Dr.
Shaw was hiding in a corner of the apartment next door when police arrived to check his store, according to Beuter. He crept up into the rafters and hid in the room next door. He carried over $19,000 in cash in a black bag.
Molds for THC-injected gummies on drying racks, gummy gelatin mix boxes, numerous cartons of unfilled THC vape cartridges, and packaging supplies for marijuana products were all discovered during the search.
A drug ledger that listed the goods Bagley had taken from Shaw and their respective values was also discovered, along with additional cash. Sports memorabilia, tools, keys, a wallet containing cash, computers, and a Dodge Viper were among the things found, along with drywall damage.
In the ledger, Wagner was also identified as Drew Patrick Swayze Wagner, a thief of goods, including sports memorabilia. Additionally, it featured a list under the Criminal category that included robbing people, trafficking drugs, and reselling firearms.
Interview with Hoff provided information that led to searches
The search of Hoff’s mobile home at 7100 Mount Vernon Road in Cedar Rapids, where Bagley was last seen, was another aspect of Beuter’s testimony. As they conducted interviews, investigators discovered new information, so they searched the trailer three times. The detectives were aware that Hoff was essential to learning Bagley’s fate.
Hoff refused to speak to Beuter and requested to speak with his attorney after he was arrested in February 2019 for evading police and discovered in possession of firearms and drugs. Knowing that he would receive a lighter sentence if he cooperated and gave information in the Bagley case, Hoff later requested to speak with a federal prosecutor. According to Beuter, there were no promises made during the proffer interview.
On February 23, 2019, police searched Wagner’s house and then Blahnik Church’s Marion apartment using the information Hoff gave them.
A laptop, two cellphones, cash, packaged marijuana for distribution, a vacuum sealer machine used to seal bags of drugs and money in drug trafficking, numerous individual packages of THC cartridges, a tool bag containing additional cartridges, a marijuana scale with residue, and leaf marijuana were all discovered during the search of Wagner’s house.
According to Beuter, the THC product labels were unique to Shaw’s drug connection in California. Shaw disclosed his narcotics supplier to federal prosecutors during an interview.
According to Beuter, they also captured images of Wagner’s thumb injuries, which Hoff said occurred during the Bagley attack. Wagner was keeping Bagley down when he was stabbed by Blahnik Church.
According to Beuter, a gun, two knives, and drug paraphernalia were discovered at Blahnik Church’s apartment during a search, along with the same brand of THC vape cartridges that were unique to Shaw’s source.
According to Beuter, tests on both knives revealed no evidence of Bagley’s blood.
On February 23, 2019, after Hoff’s proffer interview, investigators conducted a third search of his trailer and discovered multiple spots that might have blood stains. They were on the side of a dryer, a cupboard, and the floor. Bagley’s blood was discovered on the samples when the FBI tested those. Wagner’s blood was also discovered on one sample.
Because Wagner had finally provided them with the location of Bagley’s grave, detectives staged officers at his home on February 27, 2019. On February 28, they began exploring his yard, but in order to clear some of the snow and ice from an area to the east side of a detached garage, they needed a skid loader. There was a lot of snow on the ground and the temperature was below freezing.
According to Beuter, they rented a ground warmer and a tent from a funeral parlor so they could dig by warming the ground. Additionally, there was a canoe full of snow and ice on top of timber that needed to be removed, as well as a sizable piece of plywood with trash cans on top of it.
Beuter was able to begin excavating a somewhat depressed area close to that location. According to his testimony, he discovered some fabric that had been cut open to show a leg.
Trish Mehaffey writes for The Gazette about state and federal courts.
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