Attorney General's News Release

March 27, 2009

Jury returns guilty verdict in highway patrol officer's murder

Jefferson City, Mo. - A Howell County jury today returned a guilty verdict against Lance D. Shockley for the brutal ambush killing of Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham in Mar. 2005. Shockly was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action and could face the death penalty.

Attorney General Chris Koster issued the following statement subsequent to the announcement of the verdict: "With this guilty verdict, the jury has brought justice for Sgt. Dewayne Graham’s family and the men and women of the Missouri Highway Patrol. Nothing can eliminate the terrible loss, nor lessen the pain felt by Sgt. Graham’s immediate family or his extended law enforcement family. However, with this verdict, the jury has done its best to forcefully address this senseless killing."

"I especially want to give recognition to Assistant Attorneys General Kevin Zoellner and Page Bellamy for their extraordinary diligence and commitment to the prosecution of this case, and I congratulate them on this victory."