Shields' death may help close cases
BY NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer
Sunday, April 10, 2011
4/10/11 at 8:07 AM
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The criminal reputations of brothers Allen and Fred Shields Jr. struck fear in the hearts of many who knew them, police say.
Witnesses were afraid to talk to detectives investigating them as suspects in crimes, and cases stalled. But the suicide of Allen Shields on Monday may have given unsolved cases new hope.
"People were scared of them - both law-abiding citizens as well as criminals," said Detective Vic Regalado. "It has made it difficult to work cases when people are afraid to step forward. It makes it difficult to get convictions when you have uncooperative witnesses and, in some cases, victims."
The Shields brothers were among five defendants accused in what police say was a murder-for-hire plot against Tulsa businessman Neal Sweeney, who was fatally shot in September 2008.
Fred Shields Jr., 37, remains in the Tulsa Jail on a first-degree murder charge. At the time of his suicide, Allen Shields, 34, was free on bond after testifying at a preliminary hearing in November against the other defendants, including his brother and their cousin, Alonzo Johnson, 39.
Sgt. Mike Huff, supervisor of the Homicide Unit, confirmed that police have several active investigations into the Shields brothers and their associates, limiting what officials can say publicly.
However, he added, "We certainly are having people come forward with information and have made a commitment to those people to literally guard their identities, and we would appreciate it if additional people come forward."
Huff and Regalado both said the brothers' reputations are unprecedented among Tulsa crime families.
"There are certain families that rise to a level of notoriety, and I think that this group has definitely risen to that level," Huff said. "I think that as you look at these brothers and their documented criminal activities, people are taken aback by what has occurred and the impact they have had on victims and this community ... ."
Criminal background
Fred Shields Jr. is the oldest and Allen Shields was the second-youngest of five siblings, according to police and court records. The family includes twin brothers and a sister.
The Shields brothers, as well as the other men in the family, worked in the family auto repair shop. Police allege that the skills the two learned in the trade became code language for murder plots, hits and other crimes, court records show.
A background report states that Fred Shields claimed to have several arrests as a juvenile. As an adult he has been convicted of second-degree murder, possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction, knowingly concealing stolen property and burglary of an automobile, Department of Corrections records show.
Allen Shields had never been convicted of a felony. But prosecutors maintained at a bond hearing that he was a public-safety risk based on crimes for which he was being investigated, including the disappearance of a Tulsa woman named Angie Tucker in November 2007.
When Tucker didn't return home from a trip to the store, her co-workers and family became worried.
Allen Shields, her ex-boyfriend, had been arrested on an allegation that he raped her about a month before she disappeared. However, prosecutors declined to file charges in that case, citing insufficient evidence.
Police say they are now investigating fresh leads in her disappearance.
"We're still hashing through new leads, and this is an active investigation," Regalado said.
Tucker's mother, Jimmie Tucker, said she feels sorry for Allen Shields because "you are a coward to do something to someone else and kill yourself without telling anyone about it."
She said she still clings to hope that her daughter is alive, but she fears the worst.
"I hope she is all right, but the way his (Allen Shields') past was, I don't have much hope," Tucker said.
Angie Tucker's older brother, Jason Tucker, said he is hopeful that witnesses will come forward now that a man police considered a suspect in her death has died.
"Hopefully, it will open up some more leads; people won't be afraid, and they will tell us what happened," Jason Tucker said. "We just want closure, to put everything to rest. The hardest thing is not knowing."
The plot against Allen Shields
Police alleged that members of the family even turned on one another after Allen Shields testified against his brother and the other defendants in the Sweeney case, court records show. In exchange for his testimony, Allen Shields received a plea deal calling for a 10-year probation and no prison time for conspiracy.
Recorded jail conversations revealed that this angered both Fred Shields and Johnson, and that a plot targeting Allen Shields was launched, according to a search warrant affidavit filed by Detective Jeff Felton.
Johnson was heard in a recorded phone conversation Jan. 8 telling an unnamed man that he could be acquitted if Allen Shields was unable to testify. He asked the man if he knew anyone who could do "body work," referring to murder using automotive terms as code, Felton wrote.
Detectives also overheard Johnson telling a man on the phone that he had a conversation with Allen Shields two days after Shields testified and said, "How long you really think you're going to live out there, man, with those people?" according to the affidavit.
Johnson and Fred Shields then concocted a plan to create a recording in which Allen Shields would say that "authorities threatened him and told him how to testify at trial," according to Felton.
Fred Shields told Allen Shields to contact U.S. Assistant District Attorney Jane Duke, a special prosecutor who is investigating corruption within the Tulsa Police Department, and "tell them police made you tell lies," according to a recorded conversation, the affidavit states.
On Jan. 25, police recorded a conversation in which Fred Shields tells an unidentified man that he hopes Allen will "do what he is supposed to do" because he did not intend to get the death penalty or a life sentence while his brother remained free.
Fred Shields told the man that he told his brother, "I can get you off the street when I want you off the street," the affidavit states.
Anyone with information about any unsolved crimes is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS or tulsaworld.com/crimestoppers The Crime Commission offers rewards for information that leads to arrests, and tipsters can be anonymous.
Allen Shields, 34
Shields was scheduled to appear in court Monday but didn't show up. About 5:30 p.m., police received a 911 call that Shields was holding a girl hostage in the same house that he was accused of breaking into in February 2010 when he held the girl and her mother against their will. On Monday, the girl was released about 10:30 p.m., and police heard gunshots. Hours later, they found Shields dead inside the home. Here's a review of Shields' past contacts with police, based on police and court records:
- Oct. 6, 2007: Arrested in the sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend Angie Tucker. Charges were later declined.
- Nov. 3, 2007: Angie Tucker disappeared and remains missing. Police later called Shields a "prime suspect" in her disappearance.
- Feb. 8, 2010: Arrested at the home of his ex-girlfriend Sherrell Dumas with what police called a "murder kit."
- Feb. 10, 2010: First named a "person of interest" in Neal Sweeney's death by prosecutors in court records.
- June 2010: Charged with conspiracy to commit murder in Neal Sweeney's death. Accused of facilitating payment for Sweeney's contract killing. Later posted $1.125 million in bond and was released from jail.
- Oct. 5, 2010: Arrested and charged with trafficking cocaine while free on bail on the separate conspiracy and assault counts. Later pleaded guilty to two drug-delivery counts.
- Oct. 29, 2010: Pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count after testifying against four other defendants, including his brother. Plea deal calls for a suspended sentence. Posts a bond of $25,000 and is released from jail.
- January 2011: Tulsa County deputies served a warrant seeking DNA from Allen Shields in the slaying of Frederick Wilson on April 21, 2008. Wilson was slain during a home-invasion robbery.
Fred Allen Shields Jr., 37
Shields was first linked to a homicide in Tulsa at age 20. Now, Shields is being held in the Tulsa Jail without bail on a first-degree murder charge in Neal Sweeney's death. Here's a review of Shields' past contacts with police based on police and court records:
- Jan. 3, 1994: Arrested in the shooting death of 12-year-old Donisha Juanita Hawkins. At age 20, Fred was dating the girl's 15-year-old sister.
- June 30, 1994: Arrested in Payne County on theft complaints and later sentenced to five years.
- Feb. 6, 1995: Convicted of Donisha Hawkins' shooting and received a 10-year sentence. Defense attorney claimed it was accidental, but evidence indicated that Fred Shields said, "Bam! You're dead," before the gun went off. He completed his prison sentence on Oct. 26, 1999.
- January 2000: Arrested in connection with the death of 25-year-old Raymond Lee Knox Jr., whose body was found shot, wrapped in a blanket and burned in the bed of a pickup in Osage County.
- April 14, 2008: charged with drug trafficking, resisting an officer and destroying evidence. Charge dismissed Sept. 7, 2010, as a result of a police corruption investigation.
- March 24, 2009: Convicted of drug trafficking in U.S. District Court. Conviction dismissed Feb. 19, 2010, as a result of a police corruption investigation.
- Feb. 10, 2010: First named a "person of interest" in Neal Sweeney's death by prosecutors in court records.
- June 2010: Charged with conspiracy to commit murder in Neal Sweeney's death on accusations that he recruited the hitman. Awaiting trial along with the three other defendants.
Original Print Headline: Shields' death may help cases
Nicole Marshall 918-581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Tulsa Police Department Special Operations Team members and Tulsa police officers stand near North Utica Avenue and East 51st Place North Monday evening during a standoff with Allen Shields, a defendant in a high-profile murder case. Police said Shields was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. JERRY WOFFORD / Tulsa World
Allen Shields
Fred Allen Shields Jr.
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