A man with an extensive and violent criminal history was captured by law enforcement Monday night after escaping in March from the same Springfield halfway house where a resident in 2015 signed out and then killed his ex-girlfriend, her adult son, and wounded another son.
Cory Daniel Schafer, 38, was arrested Monday after a three-hour standoff at a residence on West Hovey Street, just west of Grant Avenue.
Police had blocked off roads, evacuated nearby homes and used a bullhorn to order Schafer to surrender and step outside. They also sent a canine and a robot into the house and used tear gas.
No one was hurt. The situation was handled by the Greene County Fugitive Apprehension Unit with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force.
Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott was present. Some 15 people exited the small house where the stand-off was.
“It was little sketchy for a period of time as the number of people coming out of a two-bedroom house was quite a bit,” Arnott said at Tuesday's meeting of the Greene County Commission.
Schafer previously had been living at the Alpha House Residential Reentry Center on East Division Street near the Municipal Airport.
He “escaped from custody” on or about March 2, according to online federal court records.
The indictment, issued by a grand jury, does not explain “escape.” It does not indicate if Schafer had to physically escape by, for example, breaking a window and climbing out, or if he simply signed out to leave and did not return.
A reporter with the Hauxeda went to the halfway house to ask that question and was directed to an employee of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which contracts with Alpha House. The federal employee told the reporter a media form had to be filled out before the bureau could comment.
The form was completed and the federal employee did not respond by deadline.
Schafer had been convicted in federal court of being a felon in possession of a firearm. But he also has spent time in state prison, according to a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Schafer over the years has been incarcerated for robbery in the second degree in Greene County; possession of a controlled substance in Greene County; and theft/stealing of a credit card or letter of credit in Polk County.
His most recent release from state prison was May 2016.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Rush in August 2017 wrote why Schafer should be held without bail in connection to the charge of felon in possession of a firearm.
“The court notes the nature of the instant offense, defendant's extensive criminal history including prior arrests and convictions, pattern of similar criminal activity, violent behavior history, gang involvement, history of weapons use, criminal activity while under supervision, and pretrial, probation, and parole status non-compliance.”
“In addition, the Court notes defendant's substance abuse history and mental health history.”
2015 incident at Alpha House detailed
Back in February 2015, Willie D. Clark Jr., now 59, signed out from the Alpha House and went to the South Newton Avenue residence of his ex-girlfriend and shot and killed her. He also shot and killed her adult son.
A second son was shot several times but survived after pretending to be dead, according to reporting in the Springfield News-Leader.
Clark was arrested in southeast Arkansas by U.S. Marshals after a five-day manhunt.
The News-Leader news story states: “Workers at the Alpha House halfway house where Clark lives told police Clark was supposed to be back at the house by 2 p.m. on Friday but he never showed up.”
Clark was convicted of two counts of murder and is now serving a 100-year sentence in state prison.
In 2018, in a separate incident, another man living at the Alpha House “escaped,” according to the News-Leader.
The news story states:
“About five weeks prior to his discharge, (Benjamin) Garnica signed out of the halfway house in order to go to work and did not return as scheduled by 6 p.m. Sept. 8, 2018.
“Garnica’s locker and his drawers had been emptied of all their contents. That same day, Garnica — whose location was unknown — was indicted by a federal grand jury and a warrant was issued for his arrest.”
In February 2020, Garnica was arrested in San Diego as he was reentering the United States from Mexico.
Reporters Jackie Rehwald and Rance Burger contributed to this story.
