The La Porte County Drug Task Force (LCDTF), an Indiana HIDTA Initiative, alongside Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Chicago Field Division, announced the arrest of 45-year-old Daniel Shaffer, as the result of a “murder for hire” investigation, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office said on its Facebook page on Monday.
In recent weeks, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the LCDTF opened an investigation into a La Porte County Jail (LCJ) inmate who was soliciting the murder of two La Porte residents, police said. During this investigation, Shaffer met numerous times with a LCDTF Detective and an ATF Agent who were acting in an undercover capacity.
Over the course of numerous covert meetings / encounters with Shaffer, investigators not only verified his intent to solicit the two murders, but collected evidence that ultimately led to Shaffer’s arrest, police said.
On Sept. 15, investigators presented probable cause to a judge in La Porte County Circuit Court. With the assistance of La Porte County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, the judge signed probable cause for the arrest of Shaffer for two counts of attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
Shaffer’s bond was set at $100,000 and he remains incarcerated in the LCJ.