Prosecutors charge 18-year-old with murder in Jackson County ‘road rage’ shooting on I-70
Jackson County prosecutors on Thursday charged a southeastern Missouri teenager with murder in a shooting on Interstate 70 near Oak Grove that left a 53-year-old man dead.
Charles J. Smith Jr., 18, of Cape Girardeau, was arrested after a 17-hour manhunt that began when he allegedly escaped a police pursuit on Interstate 70 by abandoning his disabled car and fleeing on foot. Police said Smith was ultimately found hiding in Sweet Springs, about 40 miles east of the shooting scene.
Smith is now charged with second-degree murder, unlawful weapon use and armed criminal action in the shooting of Gary L. Denham of Oak Grove. He was being held on a $250,000 bond.
Online court records did not have a listing for the case or a defense attorney for Smith as of Thursday night.
According to charging documents, Oak Grove police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were called to investigate Wednesday around 4:20 p.m. after a Ford pickup driven by Denham left the roadway and crashed into a parked car at a travel center.
There was a single bullet hole in the driver’s side door. White paint on the rear of the truck bed was also noticed by police.
Denham was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead there Wednesday.
Witnesses told police they saw an apparent act of “road rage” involving the pickup and a white Hyundai sedan. One heard a “popping noise” right before the pickup veered off the road, and another saw the white sedan strike the pickup.
Troopers, meanwhile, spotted a vehicle matching the description provided by witnesses in Lafayette County. They tried to pull the driver over, and then pursued.
As the chase continued east on I-70 into Saline County, police used stop sticks to disable the car. It ended up in a field, and the driver ran away.
Ground and air support were called in as the manhunt began. The abandoned sedan had its passenger side window shattered, and investigators located a traffic ticket inside. It was issued three weeks earlier, and had Smith’s name on it.
Investigators learned that Smith was arrested by the Highway Patrol during a Saline County traffic stop on March 17. He allegedly possessed a firearm at the time.
Early Thursday morning, as the manhunt continued and Smith’s photo was being publicly circulated, police received a tip that a man matching his description had visited a convenience store in Sweet Springs. Based on surveillance video, troopers verified Smith had been there.
Shortly before 10 a.m., Smith was found behind a nearby automotive shop. He was arrested and taken to Saline County jail.
During a police interview, Smith allegedly said the driver of the pickup was being aggressive, made obscene gestures, cut him off and then struck his car.
He said he fired his gun blindly at the Ford, intended as a “warning shot,” according to court documents. He then told police that he tossed the gun around the time he hit the stop sticks.
After the interview, investigators said they relied on that information to locate a firearm on the roadside. It was the same caliber pistol Smith described, according to court documents, and was found a little less than a mile from where the Hyundai was abandoned.
In a statement Thursday, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker thanked the Highway Patrol, which led the manhunt and shooting investigation, for its work. She also called the shooting a “needless act of violence.”
“A family is now without a husband and father who was everything to them,” Baker said. “Our roadways are necessary and busy with other travelers getting to their destinations. They must remain safe. Everyone should take note: take a breath, show some restraint, and let everyone get to their destination safely.”
Under Missouri law, Smith faces between 10 years and life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. Unlawful weapon use also carries a maximum life sentence, and armed criminal action is an unclassified felony that carries up to 15 years in prison for a first-time offense.
