Federal gun charges going forward for man who killed Chris Bagley

If convicted, Drew Blahnik faces up to 10 years in federal prison

Apr. 18, 2022 2:56 pm, Updated: Apr. 18, 2022 7:28 pm

Drew Blahnik makes a statement during his sentencing Dec. 17, 2021, at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids. Blahnik was convicted of second-degree murder, obstruction of prosecution and abuse of a corpse in the 2018 death of Chris Bagley. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

CEDAR RAPIDS — The man who fatally stabbed Chris Bagley in 2018 will be tried in federal court on a charge of illegally possessing a firearm while being a drug user, according to court documents.

Drew Alan Blahnik, 34, of Marion, who changed his name to Johnny Blahnik Church after conviction, was indicted in 2019 for possession of a firearm by a drug user, but a federal judge Monday just granted a prosecutor’s motion to move Blahnik into federal custody pending trial.

The federal case remained active, but Blahnik first was tried for Bagley’s murder in Linn County District Court. He was convicted and sentenced last year to 57 years in prison for fatally stabbing Bagley on Dec. 14, 2018.

According to the federal indictment, Blahnik is accused of being an unlawful user of cocaine and methamphetamine and possessing a Glock .40-caliber handgun and multiple rounds of ammunition Feb. 25, 2019. Authorities found the items at his Marion apartment.

Blahnik was going to act as his own lawyer during a trial this week in Linn County District Court on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance (marijuana) and drug tax stamp violation. Instead, he pleaded guilty last week to a lesser charge of possession of a controlled substance, a serious misdemeanor.

He was sentenced to two days in jail and given credit for previous time served. Blahnik has been in jail since he was indicted on the federal charge in 2019. He then was charged in Bagley’s murder Oct. 31, 2019.

Blahnik, who claimed self-defense in the Bagley killing, was convicted by a Linn County jury in July of second-degree murder, obstruction of prosecution and abuse of a corpse. He stabbed Bagley, 31, of Walker, 13 times in the neck and torso.

Drew Wagner, who agreed to testify against Blahnik as part of a plea deal, said Blahnik stabbed and killed Bagley because Bagley had robbed Andrew Shaw of drugs and money. Shaw, who was not charged in Bagley’s slaying, is in federal prison after being convicted of being a large-scale marijuana trafficker in Cedar Rapids.

Blahnik’s federal trial hasn’t been set yet. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.