Southeastern Missouri man convicted in fatal 2023 road rage shooting
A southeastern Missouri man was convicted of murder Friday after fatally shooting a 53-year-old man in a road rage incident in 2023.
A Jackson County jury convicted Charles J. Smith, Jr., 20, of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. Smith, who lived in Cape Girardeau, shot Gary L. Denham of Oak Grove before leading police on a 17-hour manhunt.
The shooting took place on Interstate 70 near Oak Grove on April 19, 2023. Oak Grove Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded around 4:20 p.m. to reports of a car accident, according to court documents.
Police found Denham’s green Ford pickup truck crashed into a parked car at a travel center, with a bullet hole in the pickup’s driver’s side door. Denham was evacuated to a hospital with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the hospital the same day.
Witnesses described seeing an act of “road rage” involving the pickup and a white Hyundai sedan, according to court documents, saying they heard a popping noise coming from the sedan before watching it strike the pickup truck.
Police later saw the white Hyundai — driven by Smith — in Lafayette County and attempted to pull the car over, according to court documents. Rather than pull over, Smith led responding officers on a chase east on I-70 into Saline County, where he swerved into a field after police disabled the Hyundai.
Smith abandoned the car and ran away, leaving behind a traffic ticket with his name on it, according to court documents. After a widely publicized manhunt, police got a tip that Smith had been seen at a convenience store in Sweet Springs, where they arrested him behind a nearby auto shop around 10 a.m. April 20.
After his arrest, Smith told investigators that Denham had made obscene gestures toward his car, according to court documents. He admitted to shooting at Denham’s car, court documents read, saying he intended the bullet as a “warning shot.”
Born in Kansas City, Gary L. Denham worked as an electrician for IBEW Local 24 for more than 20 years, according to his obituary. Denham had many hobbies, the obituary reads, including fishing, cooking, working in his yard, watching birds and movies and listening to music. He was also active in the First Baptist Church of Oak Grove.
However, relatives wrote, the primary joy of Denham’s life was by far his family. Denham is survived by his wife, Cindy, and two sons, along with many extended family members.
“Gary’s #1 priority was his family and he loved spending time with them,” the obituary reads. “They referred to him as their Superman.”
Smith was originally held on a $250,000 bond but was later deemed ineligible for bond, according to court records. A sentencing hearing for Smith has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. May 1 in Independence criminal court.
