Lee’s Summit man accused of shooting co-worker with shotgun for things he said online
A 37-year-old Lee’s Summit man has been accused of shooting a co-worker over things the victim said to others online, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office.
Robert R. Graham has been charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He allegedly shot his co-worker in the foot with a sawed-off shotgun early Tuesday morning.
The shooting led police to close Northwest Chipman Road between Northeast Douglas Street and Northwest Donovan Road for several hours Tuesday while they negotiated with Graham to surrender.
According to court documents:
Another co-worker had picked up the victim and the two went to Graham’s house in 100 block of Northwest Chipman Road. The victim exited the car and knocked on the rear door of the house. When there was no answer, the victim knocked on a window.
The victim heard someone inside, so he went to the back door. Graham opened the door and told the victim to come inside because he wanted speak with him.
The victim went inside and walked into a bedroom, where Graham allegedly said, “I heard you’re talking a lot of (expletive) to mother (expletive) online.”
Graham left the room and when he returned he allegedly was holding a sawed-off shotgun.
Graham pointed the gun at face level, so the victim reached up to move the barrel of the gun down. Graham then lowered the gun close to the victim’s foot and allegedly shot him in the foot.
Graham allegedly reloaded and said, “I’ll shoot you again if you don’t get out of my house and quit talking (expletive).”
The victim ran out of the house and tried to get into the vehicle he arrived in. His co-worker, however, drove off.
The victim walked south on Olive Street, where he was picked up by a woman who took him to a hospital. The hospital called police saying they had a gunshot victim.
The victim identified Graham as the shooter.
Police responded to Graham’s house and set up a large perimeter. After several hours, Graham surrendered to police and was arrested.
During a search of his home, they found a disassembled shotgun that when assembled measured 13 inches. They also found one spent shotgun shell and three live shells.
When questioned by a detective, Graham said he remembered the victim coming to his house. When asked about the shooting, Graham allegedly declined to comment further without an attorney.
