Jared Whaley Case: The Crew, the Murder, and the Sentences

The Jared Whaley murder case is a 2003 Las Vegas killing in which a 17-year-old Silverado High School student was lured into the desert and shot by a group of his own friends, a clique that called itself “The Crew” and drew its plan from mafia movies. Six people were convicted. The ringleader, Matt Baker, is serving 35 years; the last major defendant still incarcerated, Shane Johnson, was granted parole in late 2023 with a release date of March 4, 2024.¹

Who Jared Whaley Was

Whaley was born in Glendale, California, and moved to Las Vegas with his mother, Patricia Knight, after her second divorce. He had once been an honors student and a competitive gymnast. By his late teens his grades had slipped and he had a reputation for rebelliousness, though friends and family still described him as well-liked and physically fit. He was obsessed with NASCAR, wanted to join the Marines, and dreamed of owning a 1972 Chevelle SS.² He lived with his mother in the Carousel Park development, and it was there he fell in with the classmates who would kill him.³ He was one week short of his 18th birthday when he disappeared.

“The Crew” and Why They Killed Him

The group called itself “The Crew” after its shared fascination with mafia movies, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Stacey Kollins.⁴ Matt Baker was the leader; the others called him “the godfather.” Baker watched the film Casino repeatedly and modeled the murder plot after scenes from it.²

The Crew had graduated from petty vandalism and shoplifting to drug dealing. When Whaley tried to distance himself, Baker decided he was a “rat” who would talk to police. Prosecutors later described the killing as having essentially no conventional motive, calling it “a bunch of actions and no reason,” driven by Baker’s fantasy of being a mob boss disposing of a disloyal associate.² Police also alleged Whaley had interfered with the group’s drug dealing and smoked marijuana the group intended to sell.⁵

How the Murder Happened

Before the shooting, the group twice tried to poison Whaley using pure nicotine and Visine eye drops. Gerald Wilks served as lookout during one of those attempts. Whaley survived both.⁴

The killing took place in mid-October 2003. Baker assigned each member a role. They got Whaley drunk and drove him out to a dry lake bed off U.S. 95, south of U.S. 93, on the pretense of a party or off-roading. There Shane Johnson used a stun gun on him near his heart. Shane Myers struck him in the head with a tire iron. Cody Myers loaded a 20-gauge shotgun, and Baker shot Whaley twice at point-blank range, once in the chest and once in the head.²⁵

Afterward they tried to make the body unidentifiable. Baker cut out some of Whaley’s teeth with a knife. The group punched at his face, stripped him, and burned his clothes. They buried him in a shallow grave prepared in advance near the 50-mile marker on the road to the Hoover Dam. A second, deeper hole about 1,000 feet away had also been dug but was not used.⁴

How Investigators Broke the Case

Patricia Knight reported her son missing on October 16, 2003. Ten days later, ATV riders found a decomposing body wrapped in green plastic trash bags in the El Dorado Valley dry lake bed, within Boulder City’s jurisdiction and roughly 25 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. Because of the mutilation, the Clark County coroner could not identify the remains right away. Dental records finally confirmed Whaley’s identity on February 12, 2004.³

The break came during interviews at the home of Shane and Cody Myers. Detectives noticed that a 20-gauge shotgun in the family’s gun cabinet had been recently cleaned and oiled while the other firearms had not. Shane Myers then volunteered that the victim had been killed with a 20-gauge shotgun. That detail had never been released publicly. Among themselves, the group had referred to Whaley by the code name “Jamal,” and a story they had circulated about a fight with a student named “Jamal” turned out to be fabricated.⁴

Stephen Stringfield confessed under interrogation to cleaning blood from Baker’s clothes after the killing. Gerald Wilks also cooperated. Baker, meanwhile, had been searching the internet for “evidence needed to convict for murder.” A SWAT team eventually surrounded his home to arrest him.²

Charges and Sentences

Six people were charged. All resolved through plea agreements.

Matt Baker, the triggerman and leader, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping, and murder with use of a deadly weapon. Aggregate sentence: 35 years.²
Shane Myers, who beat Whaley with the tire iron, was sentenced to 25 years to life for murder.⁴
Shane Johnson, who used the stun gun and helped in the beating, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on April 15, 2004 before District Judge Donald Mosley. His plea called for life with the possibility of parole after 20 years and required him to testify against the remaining defendants. The deal spared him a deadly-weapon enhancement that could have doubled the sentence.⁵
Cody Myers, who loaded the shotgun, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received about five years. He agreed to testify against his brother.²
Gerald Wilks, the poisoning-attempt lookout, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder on April 15, 2004 and agreed to testify. He was ultimately sentenced to six months.⁵²
Stephen Stringfield was not at the scene but cleaned Baker’s bloodstained jacket and supplied gasoline to burn evidence. His original charges of murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, and robbery were dropped. On June 30, 2004 he pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of destruction of evidence and received six months.⁶

Where the Case Stands Now

In June 2019, Shane Johnson appeared before the Nevada State Board of Pardons Commissioners seeking a commutation. Patricia Knight testified against him. “It’s been 15 years, but it feels like yesterday,” she told the board. “A loss of a child is the worst thing you can go through. It’s just an empty spot in your heart.” The board denied the request.⁷⁸

Johnson later became parole-eligible. According to the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners’ action report, the board granted him parole at a hearing on December 20, 2023, with an effective date of March 4, 2024.¹

1
Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners. Parole Actions, December 2023
2
Salon. Las Vegas Murder
3
Las Vegas Sun. Teens Slaying Mystery to Mom
4
Oxygen. Jared Whaley Brutally Killed, Buried by Mob-Obsessed Friends
5
Las Vegas Sun. Pair Plead Guilty in Whaley Killing
6
Las Vegas Sun. Teen in Whaley Case Reaches Plea Agreement
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8 News Now. Family Relieved Convicted Killer Will Remain Behind Bars
8
Nevada Legislature. Board of Pardons Report