Van Buren man is charged in slaying of trooper

A Southeast Missouri man was accused Tuesday of fatally shooting a state trooper with both a shotgun and a rifle, allegedly as the officer focused on him as a suspect in a fatal hit-and-run wreck.

Lance Shockley, 28, of Van Buren, was arraigned Tuesday in Carter County on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. He was being held without bond in the Cape Girardeau County jail.

Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham Jr., 37, was fatally shot March 20 outside his home near Van Buren, still wearing his uniform. Though he had completed his shift that day, the patrol has ruled that Graham -- a 12-year veteran of the force -- was the 24th state trooper to die on the job.

Shockley was arrested March 23 for leaving the scene of a fatal Nov. 26 accident that Graham investigated in Carter County. The one-vehicle accident left passenger Jeffrey Bayless, 32, dead.

Investigators sought a possible link between the investigation and Graham's death.

Patrol Sgt. Marty Elmore said Shockley had remained in custody since his arrest. Graham had initially investigated the accident, but Elmore could not say how much contact there had been between Shockley and Graham.

"I don't know about motive. It would be premature for me to speculate," Elmore said.

Graham was zone supervisor for Carter and Reynolds counties. He was the divorced father of a 4-year-old son, and was engaged to be married.

Between 50 to 70 officers investigated the shooting, Elmore said.

"It's a great development in our eyes," Elmore said, "especially to us because it was one of our own."

A probable cause affidavit filed with the criminal complaint alleged that Shockley borrowed his grandmother's red Pontiac Grand Am the afternoon of the killing, then returned it later that afternoon.

Investigators said several witnesses saw that car parked on a secluded gravel road about three-tenths of a mile from Graham's house that afternoon.

Graham was shot multiple times, according to evidence from the scene and an autopsy. A bullet from Graham's body was .22-caliber, and the trooper received additional wounds from either a 10- or 12-gauge shotgun, according to the complaint.

Interviews during the investigation found that Shockley owns multiple firearms, including at least one 12-gauge shotgun. Authorities said they found a .22-caliber bullet at Shockley's home. Ballistic testing of that round with one recovered from Graham's body "conclusively revealed that both were fired from the same firearm," the affidavit said.

Shockley's next court appearance is scheduled for April 12 at the Carter County Courthouse in Van Buren.