Sergeant Carl D. "Dewayne" Graham Jr. -- Badge #223
Sergeant Carl Dewayne Graham Jr. was ambushed and killed at his residence at approximately 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 20, 2005. A passing motorist found Sgt. Graham lying on the ground near his patrol car, still wearing his uniform. An autopsy revealed he had been shot by a rifle and shotgun. Sgt. Graham’s residence was just outside Van Buren, MO, in rural Carter County, within Troop G.
Officers discovered Sgt. Graham had been investigating a single fatality traffic crash where the driver had fled the scene. Investigators followed up on leads Sgt. Graham had been developing prior to his death. On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 23, 2005, Lance Shockley, 28, was arrested on felony leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident charges and was incarcerated in the Cape Girardeau County Jail. At the time of Shockley’s arrest, the Patrol considered him a “person of interest” in the murder of Sgt. Graham. Dozens of investigators continued working around the clock.
At 1:55 p.m., on Tuesday, March 29, 2005, a member of the Patrol placed Shockley under arrest for the murder of Sgt. Graham. Shockley was charged with first degree murder and armed criminal action. A jury found him guilty of murdering Sgt. Graham in 2009. On Friday, May 22, 2009, Judge David Evans sentenced Shockley to death. In 2013, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld Shockley’s conviction. The U. S. Supreme Court also denied Shockley’s petition to hear his case. Shockley was executed on October 14, 2025, at the Eastern Reception Diagnostic & Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, MO. Numerous Patrol members and retired Command Staff were in attendance to show support to the Graham family.
Sergeant Carl Dewayne Graham Jr., 37, was the 24th member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol to lose his life in the line of duty. He was survived by a four-year-old son and his parents.