TheeBadOne
03-23-2005, 06:50 PM
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Sgt. Dewayne Graham Jr.
Coroner: Trooper shooting was 'Cold-blooded, premeditated assassination'
VAN BUREN -- A "cold-blooded, premeditated assassination" is how one Carter County official described the shooting death of a Missouri State Highway Patrol sergeant who was gunned down in his driveway Sunday as he completed his tour of duty.
A 12-year veteran of the Highway Patrol, Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham Jr., 37, was found dead outside his residence, located in a hollow off of Highway M, about three miles north of U.S. 60.
Highway Patrol Troop G Headquarters in Willow Springs was notified by a citizen of Graham's death at 5:18 p.m.
Since that time, investigations from multiple county, state and federal agencies have teamed up to process the crime scene and begin interviewing witnesses, as well as retrace Graham's work activities for the past several days and weeks.
As the investigators continued their search for clues Monday, Graham's body was taken to Mineral Area Hospital in Farmington where Dr. Michael Zaricor performed an autopsy.
"We started at 9 o'clock and completed at about 4 (p.m.)," explained Carter County Coroner Dennis McSpadden. Preliminary autopsy findings indicate "he was killed by a (firearm) blast and received two rounds."
McSpadden said Graham's death was instantaneous. "He was dead when he hit the ground," he said.
It will be a couple of weeks before McSpadden receives the complete autopsy report from Zaricor, he said.
Blood was drawn for toxicology analysis, but "we don't suspect anything there," McSpadden said. "It's just a matter of procedure on an autopsy that they do all that."
McSpadden described Graham's death as being a "sad circumstance. The saddest thing was he was home and off duty. They just laid in wait for him.
"This was a cold-blooded, premeditated assassination. "
Patrol officials believe Graham was killed in the line of duty.
"Our initial impression is more than likely (his death) was work related," said Patrol Sgt. Larry Plunkett Jr., Troop E's public information officer. "We're exploring those avenues.
"Based on his work history, we feel confident it is connected to the work he has done."
Plunkett described Graham as being an aggressive officer who arrested a lot of people for drunk driving and drugs.
"We're in the line of work that we deal with people breaking the law," Plunkett explained. "People who don't abide by the law see us as the enemy sometimes.
"It's the nature of the business we're in. We don't find this acceptable and will find the person or persons responsible."
At this time, Plunkett said, investigators have "pretty much completed the initial processing of the scene; however, we've brought in some specialized folks to help us do additional analysis of the scene in hopes they can reconstruct it to the best of their ability."
The specialized personnel are coming in from across the state and are Division of Drug and Crime Control investigators, who will be working with the local units from Troop G and Troop E, Plunkett said.
After getting organized last night, Plunkett said, the investigators are back at Graham's house today. "I'm not sure how much the rain will affect their ability to process it today," he said.
Although this type of activity is "secondary to what we do initially on every case we work," it is "something we're going to put some emphasis on," Plunkett said.
On Monday, Troop E's canine unit of Sgt. Rick Sanders and Taz and bloodhounds from the Missouri Department of Corrections combed the woods around Graham's residence.
"They're trying to cover the immediate few miles around the house," Plunkett explained. "It's basically a wooded area, a very rural part of the county.
"We want to make sure we haven't missed anything that might be laying out there (and that) we're pointed in the right direction."
Plunkett said officers are looking at several possibilities, including that Graham's killer came in by vehicle or on foot.
"All of those options are being looked at," he said. "We want to make sure we know what we are talking about when we do find the person or persons responsible."
At this time, Plunkett said, investigators have "people we are interested in" in connection with Graham's death. "At this point, obviously, we're not to the point of making an arrest, but there are folks we do have an interest in," he said.
Not wanting to limit investigators, "we're going to continue to be open to all phone calls and anything interesting that folks can provide," Plunkett explained. "We've processed dozens of leads and still got several to go. We're still receiving phone calls.
"We still want to encourage people (to call). It doesn't have to be something they saw just this weekend. It could be something they heard during the past several weeks or months, anything they feel is pertinent, we'll be glad to listen to."
As the investigation progresses, Plunkett said, they don't want to miss anything. "We're not going to be closed minded to any suggestion brought forward," he said.
Plunkett said anyone with information is asked to call the Highway Patrol zone office at 573-323-8588.
Investigators, according to Plunkett, are being as thorough as possible.
"Unfortunately, that takes a lot of time and resources," he said. "Our DDCC investigators have done an excellent job. Our zone officers have done an excellent job. They've had a lot of practice given the number of homicides we have in the area.
"We're using that experience and doing our best to find the person or persons responsible."
Given that experience, "we know patience is our best tool and we're going to use that to make sure we do (the investigation) to the best of our ability," Plunkett explained. "... We are finding information and we are making progress. It's just, unfortunately, slower than we would like.
"We're really hoping we're going to be able to complete it very soon."
Born in St. Charles, Graham graduated from Dexter High School in 1986. It was while attending school at Dexter that Graham began his law enforcement career by serving as a police officer cadet with the Dexter Police Department.
In May 1990, he graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice. While attending Southeast, Graham had worked for the Perryville Police Department.
From December 1990 to December 1992, Graham returned to the Dexter Police Department where he served as a full-time patrolman.
On Jan. 1, 1993, Graham was appointed to the Highway Patrol. Upon graduating from the patrol's Law Enforcement Academy on June 18, 1993, he was assigned to Troop G, Zone 6, Thayer.
In June 1995, Graham transferred to Zone 1, Wright County. After being promoted to corporal, he became the assistant zone commander there in 1999.
In 2002, Graham was promoted to sergeant and became the zone commander for Zone 4, Carter and Reynolds counties.
Visitation for Graham will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the First Baptist Church in Dexter. Burial will be in the Stanfield Cemetery at Clarkton.
article (http://www.darnews.com/articles/2005/03/22/news/news1.txt)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How many of us are on autopilot when we get home? This reinforces that danger may be at a place most of us think of as sanctuary.
Sgt. Dewayne Graham Jr.
Coroner: Trooper shooting was 'Cold-blooded, premeditated assassination'
VAN BUREN -- A "cold-blooded, premeditated assassination" is how one Carter County official described the shooting death of a Missouri State Highway Patrol sergeant who was gunned down in his driveway Sunday as he completed his tour of duty.
A 12-year veteran of the Highway Patrol, Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham Jr., 37, was found dead outside his residence, located in a hollow off of Highway M, about three miles north of U.S. 60.
Highway Patrol Troop G Headquarters in Willow Springs was notified by a citizen of Graham's death at 5:18 p.m.
Since that time, investigations from multiple county, state and federal agencies have teamed up to process the crime scene and begin interviewing witnesses, as well as retrace Graham's work activities for the past several days and weeks.
As the investigators continued their search for clues Monday, Graham's body was taken to Mineral Area Hospital in Farmington where Dr. Michael Zaricor performed an autopsy.
"We started at 9 o'clock and completed at about 4 (p.m.)," explained Carter County Coroner Dennis McSpadden. Preliminary autopsy findings indicate "he was killed by a (firearm) blast and received two rounds."
McSpadden said Graham's death was instantaneous. "He was dead when he hit the ground," he said.
It will be a couple of weeks before McSpadden receives the complete autopsy report from Zaricor, he said.
Blood was drawn for toxicology analysis, but "we don't suspect anything there," McSpadden said. "It's just a matter of procedure on an autopsy that they do all that."
McSpadden described Graham's death as being a "sad circumstance. The saddest thing was he was home and off duty. They just laid in wait for him.
"This was a cold-blooded, premeditated assassination. "
Patrol officials believe Graham was killed in the line of duty.
"Our initial impression is more than likely (his death) was work related," said Patrol Sgt. Larry Plunkett Jr., Troop E's public information officer. "We're exploring those avenues.
"Based on his work history, we feel confident it is connected to the work he has done."
Plunkett described Graham as being an aggressive officer who arrested a lot of people for drunk driving and drugs.
"We're in the line of work that we deal with people breaking the law," Plunkett explained. "People who don't abide by the law see us as the enemy sometimes.
"It's the nature of the business we're in. We don't find this acceptable and will find the person or persons responsible."
At this time, Plunkett said, investigators have "pretty much completed the initial processing of the scene; however, we've brought in some specialized folks to help us do additional analysis of the scene in hopes they can reconstruct it to the best of their ability."
The specialized personnel are coming in from across the state and are Division of Drug and Crime Control investigators, who will be working with the local units from Troop G and Troop E, Plunkett said.
After getting organized last night, Plunkett said, the investigators are back at Graham's house today. "I'm not sure how much the rain will affect their ability to process it today," he said.
Although this type of activity is "secondary to what we do initially on every case we work," it is "something we're going to put some emphasis on," Plunkett said.
On Monday, Troop E's canine unit of Sgt. Rick Sanders and Taz and bloodhounds from the Missouri Department of Corrections combed the woods around Graham's residence.
"They're trying to cover the immediate few miles around the house," Plunkett explained. "It's basically a wooded area, a very rural part of the county.
"We want to make sure we haven't missed anything that might be laying out there (and that) we're pointed in the right direction."
Plunkett said officers are looking at several possibilities, including that Graham's killer came in by vehicle or on foot.
"All of those options are being looked at," he said. "We want to make sure we know what we are talking about when we do find the person or persons responsible."
At this time, Plunkett said, investigators have "people we are interested in" in connection with Graham's death. "At this point, obviously, we're not to the point of making an arrest, but there are folks we do have an interest in," he said.
Not wanting to limit investigators, "we're going to continue to be open to all phone calls and anything interesting that folks can provide," Plunkett explained. "We've processed dozens of leads and still got several to go. We're still receiving phone calls.
"We still want to encourage people (to call). It doesn't have to be something they saw just this weekend. It could be something they heard during the past several weeks or months, anything they feel is pertinent, we'll be glad to listen to."
As the investigation progresses, Plunkett said, they don't want to miss anything. "We're not going to be closed minded to any suggestion brought forward," he said.
Plunkett said anyone with information is asked to call the Highway Patrol zone office at 573-323-8588.
Investigators, according to Plunkett, are being as thorough as possible.
"Unfortunately, that takes a lot of time and resources," he said. "Our DDCC investigators have done an excellent job. Our zone officers have done an excellent job. They've had a lot of practice given the number of homicides we have in the area.
"We're using that experience and doing our best to find the person or persons responsible."
Given that experience, "we know patience is our best tool and we're going to use that to make sure we do (the investigation) to the best of our ability," Plunkett explained. "... We are finding information and we are making progress. It's just, unfortunately, slower than we would like.
"We're really hoping we're going to be able to complete it very soon."
Born in St. Charles, Graham graduated from Dexter High School in 1986. It was while attending school at Dexter that Graham began his law enforcement career by serving as a police officer cadet with the Dexter Police Department.
In May 1990, he graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice. While attending Southeast, Graham had worked for the Perryville Police Department.
From December 1990 to December 1992, Graham returned to the Dexter Police Department where he served as a full-time patrolman.
On Jan. 1, 1993, Graham was appointed to the Highway Patrol. Upon graduating from the patrol's Law Enforcement Academy on June 18, 1993, he was assigned to Troop G, Zone 6, Thayer.
In June 1995, Graham transferred to Zone 1, Wright County. After being promoted to corporal, he became the assistant zone commander there in 1999.
In 2002, Graham was promoted to sergeant and became the zone commander for Zone 4, Carter and Reynolds counties.
Visitation for Graham will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the First Baptist Church in Dexter. Burial will be in the Stanfield Cemetery at Clarkton.
article (http://www.darnews.com/articles/2005/03/22/news/news1.txt)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How many of us are on autopilot when we get home? This reinforces that danger may be at a place most of us think of as sanctuary.