On the night of May 9, 2020, extending into the early morning hours of May 10, 2020, a violent incident unfolded on a rural road near Dora, Missouri, claiming the life of 22-year-old Devon Keith Massey. Known affectionately as 'Porkey' to his friends and family, the male victim was riding in a gold 1995 Ford Explorer along County Road 195 with two other individuals, including a man named Allen R. Shafer from West Plains. According to later reports from the investigation, a physical altercation broke out inside the vehicle between Massey and Shafer. During the struggle, Shafer alleged that a firearm fell onto his chest, which he then seized and used to shoot Massey.
Following the shooting, Shafer contacted 911 at approximately 9:12 p.m. to report that he had shot a man, but he was unable to provide dispatchers with his precise location, claiming he was lost in the dark, rural terrain. Law enforcement officers from the Ozark County Sheriff's Department arrived in the area roughly 30 minutes later and began an extensive search for the victim and the shooter. Despite sweeping the vicinity multiple times, deputies were initially unable to locate Massey in the darkness. It was not until around 3:00 a.m. on May 10 that Massey's own mother and other relatives, who had joined the desperate search, discovered his lifeless body lying face up on the side of County Road 195. He had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest.
Allen Shafer fled the scene but was apprehended by authorities later that morning in West Plains, Missouri. At the time of his arrest, he was found in possession of the vehicle, which had been reported stolen from one of Massey's relatives, and a. 380-caliber pistol. Shafer was initially charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and tampering with a motor vehicle. He provided conflicting accounts during interrogations, at one point claiming the shooting was the result of a sudden struggle where he reacted to the weapon falling on him.
The legal proceedings concluded more than a year later in July 2021. Shafer, then 34 years old, entered an Alford plea in Taney County court, a legal move where a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution has enough evidence to convict. He pleaded to the reduced charge of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. Consequently, Shafer was sentenced to ten years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for the manslaughter charge and seven years for the tampering charge, with the judge ordering the sentences to be served concurrently for a total of ten years in prison.
