Shockley guilty; sentencing phase to commence Saturday

Photo courtesy of The West Plains Daily Quill Lance D Shockley, at right, closed his eyes as the verdict was read Friday, proclaiming him guilty of murdering Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham in March of 2005. Graham's father, Carl Graham, Sr., of Dexter, can be seen in the background in glasses in back and to the right of Shockley's counsel, Bradford Kessler. [Click to enlarge]

SEMO News Service

WEST PLAINS -- A jury of seven men and five woman deliberated three hours Friday before convicting Lance D. Shockley, 32, on the Class A felony of first-degree murder in connection with the March 20, 2005 death of a Dexter native, Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham. A 12-year-veteran of the Patrol, Graham was found shot to death in the driveway of his Van Buren residence. He was still in uniform, having just completed his tour of duty for the day.

The penalty phase of the trial commenced Saturday morning and the jury was to decide whether Shockley will be put to death for the crime or remain in prison for the rest of his life, with no possiblity of parole.

(As of presstime, no sentence had come in from Howell County, but any information received regarding the sentence will be posted on The Daily Statesman's website as it becomes available.)

Shockley, dressed in a blue dress shirt and brown slacks, sat solemnly at the defense table as Presiding Circuit Judge David Evans asked the jury foreman: "Is this the decision of the jury?"

After receiving confirmation that it was and that the verdict had been unanimous, Evans had the bailiff hand the verdict form to the foreman to be read. Shockley watched the foreman as he read the verdict of: "We, the jury, find the defendant, Lance Shockley, guilty of murder in the first degree ...."

Closing his eyes was the only apparent emotion Shockley showed when the verdict was read. His family, including his mother and grandparents, who sat holding hands in the front row, were visibly upset and began crying, as did other family members.

Across the aisle, members of Sgt. Graham's family, many whom also were crying, clapped and cheered briefly.

When Evans polled the jury, asking "Is this your verdict?," each answered affirmatively. The jury had reached its verdict after hearing from 36 witnesses during the four-day trial and hearing closing arguments Friday morning from Assistant Attorney General Kevin Zoellner and Shockley's attorney, Bradford Kessler with the Capital Public Defender's Office in St. Louis.

After a brief recess following the verdict, the jury returned to the courtroom to began hearing additional testimony in the penalty phase of the trial.

On Saturday, the jury was asked to deliberate again and decide if Shockley should be sentenced to death or life in prison, without the possibility of probation or parole.

The jurors will make their decision based on testimony heard from 15 co-workers, friends and family members of Sgt. Graham and three of Shockley's family members. Patrol Sgt. Craig Ponder, who described Graham as one of his best friends, said he was "probably one of the best police officers I ever knew."

While attending the Highway Patrol's Law Enforcement Academy together, Ponder said, it was Graham's goal to be a zone sergeant. "He worked hard and was able to accomplish that," he said. Graham was zone supervisor for Carter and Reynolds counties at the time of his death.

When asked about Graham as a friend, an emotional Ponder described him as a "good friend," who would do anything for anyone. Ponder said he and Graham, as well as both their sons, who are about the same age, often spent time together, as well as camped and fished together. Getting the call to go to Graham's house and seeing him laying in a pool of blood was "one of the hardest things I've ever done," Ponder said.

"As officers," he said, "there always is the possibility of being killed in the line of duty, but you don't expect to be shot in the back ..." When given the opportunity to be zone sergeant, Ponder said, he didn't have to think about the decision, but knowing "it was because Dewayne was killed ... I think about Dewayne every day."

Graham's then 4-year-old son, Hayden, was "Dewayne's life," Ponder said. Every minute of his off time was spent with Hayden, he said. David Bailey, who served as Graham's field training officer, described Graham as being "born to be a police officer. He was a natural ... the best police officer I've ever seen. Dewayne just had a way about him." Graham's future with the Highway Patrol was "unlimited," said Bailey. Graham, he said, could have gone as high as he wanted in the ranks.

Retired patrol Col. Roger Stottlemyre described Graham as a "rising star on the Highway Patrol." His death "made an impact on all of us," said Stottlemyre, who had four officers killed in the line of duty in 2005.

"All deaths are hard on the Highway Patrol family, but having an officer killed in the driveway of his home, shot in the back then in the head as he's laying there dying ... it's just devastating," Stottlemyre said.

Stottlemyre was asked to read a portion of the information on his "funeral document," which says: "If I'm killed in the line of duty ... make (everyone) aware I was killed doing a job I believed in and loved." Carl Dewayne Graham Sr. told the jurors about his son's premature birth and his childhood. It was in the 10th grade, the elder Graham said, that his son joined the cadet program at the Dexter Police Department, which led to him deciding to get a criminal justice degree in college and go into law enforcement.

When asked if he was proud of his law enforcement son, the elder Graham wiped tears from his eyes as he said, "That's putting it lightly. ... He loved his job. " The elder Graham also was proud of the father his son was. Although he and Hayden's mother were divorced, he said, they had a good relationship, sharing time 50-50.

"If he had a day, he would go fishing with Hayden," the elder Graham said. " ... That boy was his life."

The elder Graham said his son took Hayden hunting, fishing and camping, just as he had when his son was young.

"I can't see any father-son being any closer," he said. His son's death is something "you never get over, you just get used to it," he said.

Visibly crying throughout her testimony, Sgt. Graham's stepmother, Beverly Graham, said she misses him every day. "We have holes in our hearts," she said. Beverly Graham described her stepson as a "good boy," a wonderful person and someone she can't go a day without thinking about.

"I could not have asked for a better stepson; we shared so much," said Beverly Graham, who described him as a very thoughtful person.

Beverly Graham said that the Graham family will never get over his death. "We may get used to it ... (but) how do you get over something like losing someone you love?"

When Cathy Crowley-Runge was asked what kind of man her fiancee was, her response was: "You've heard testimony (from others) about what a great man he was; he was all of that and more.

"I was privileged to know him. ... He was an amazing person." Crowley-Runge described Graham as the "very best father I've ever seen in my life. Hayden was his life."

When Graham got off work, she said, he went and got Hayden and spent every second with him. His death was devastating, she said. To have hopes and dreams for the future vanish was "really hard to accept," she said.

Tammy Ogden said Graham not only took Hayden hunting and fishing, but would drive from Van Buren to West Plains to watch him play tee ball. On the day of his murder, Ogden said, Graham was supposed to pick up Hayden, who was excited because he had wrapped a gift for his dad. When she told Hayden about his father's death, "the first thing he said was 'I don't get to give my daddy his present.'"

Hayden, Ogden said, asked about whether he could talk to his dad in heaven. She said she told him that he couldn't, but he could talk to God ...

Ogden said her son experienced nightmares in which he would kick and scream. "I didn't know what to do," she said. After his fifth birthday party, Ogden said, her son drew a picture of his dad's house. When she asked about it, "he said it was a picture of daddy here with Lance Shockley down here killing him."

Hayden Graham told the jury his father was a "nice dad," who took him hunting, fishing, camping and swimming. When asked if he could do anything for one day, what would it be, he said, "to hang out with dad."

Zoellner told the jury Shockley pled guilty on March 23, 2004, in Carter County to the Class A misdemeanor of third-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and the Class D misdemeanor of peace disturbance. The victims were a Carter County deputy and a National Park Service park ranger. Chip Brewster, who was then a Carter County deputy, said that during the incident officers had used pepper spray on Shockley and he had taken Shockley to jail to clean up. After Shockley calmed down, "I told Lance I was sorry about what happened ...," Brewster said. "He said 'I like you as a person, but not your uniform.'"

The jury also learned of two incidents which happened at the Howell County Jail, including one in which Shockley was accused of assaulting another inmate. A third inmate, according to jailer Ray Wells, initiated the assault, but after the victim was down, "Lance kicked and hit the inmate on the floor."

Testifying for the defense, Laura Smith, Shockley's former girlfriend, said it would be in the best interest of their daughters to have their dad alive, even if he is behind bars.

"I just think if Lance is alive, the girls can go visit," she said.

If Shockley is sentenced to die, "they will go through the same thing as the Graham family," Smith said. " ... Not for Lance's sake, he got a guilty verdict, but for those girls ..."

Rachel Shockley described her cousin as a "great guy," who looked out for her like a brother. "I've always admired him," she said.

Shockley, she said, checked on their grandparents every day and helped out with such chores as splitting wood. Having him alive "would mean everything in the world," Rachel Shockley said. "I don't believe in the death penalty; being able to talk to him would just mean everything."

Gerald Sanders said his grandson had lived with him off and on for 28 years.

"I believe he's one of the best kids ... was ever put on this earth," said Sanders, who followed his progress through school and athletics, both of which he excelled in. During the last four years, Sanders said, he has visited his grandson "every weekend, every day they let me in. I love him as much now as the day this happened."

If sentenced to prison, Sanders said, he'll go see his grandson whenever he can. "I love him as much as my own kids, maybe even more; I'm going to miss him," he said.

(Noreen Hyslop, Managing Editor of The Daily Statesman, contributed to this story).