18-Year-Old Charged with Second-Degree Murder in Fatal Road Rage Incident Involving Gary Denham
By Accident.NEWS
Publish Date: April 23, 2023
Gary Denham was fatally shot and Charles Smith Jr. was charged with second-degree murder and other felonies.
An 18-year-old has been charged with second-degree murder and other felonies after fatally shooting another driver in a road-rage incident along a busy Missouri highway. Charles Smith Jr. of Cape Girardeau was arrested after a manhunt that followed a deadly shooting on Wednesday on Interstate 70 near an exit to Oak Grove, a town located near the eastern edge of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The victim, 53-year-old Gary Denham of Oak Grove, was found shot inside a pickup truck that veered off the side of the interstate, eventually hitting a parked vehicle at a gas station. According to a probable cause statement, State Highway Patrol and Oak Grove Police Department were notified of a road-rage incident involving two vehicles on the eastbound lane of the interstate. Smith was taken into custody about 40 miles (64 kilometers) away in Sweet Springs. During questioning, Smith said that the truck’s driver was making obscene gestures, cut Smith off and hit his car multiple times. Smith said that he fired a “warning shot” at the truck and didn’t know he hit anyone, the probable cause statement said. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.
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Tags: Fatality, #Missouri, Missouri, Auto, #RoadRage, #OakGrove, #I70, #GaryDenham, CharlesSmithJr, #FatalShooting, Oak Grove
Incident at a Glance
- Parties Involved:
- Gary Denham
- Vehicles:
- pickup truck, car
- Fatality:
- YES
- State:
- Missouri
- City:
- Oak Grove
- Location:
- Interstate 70 near an exit to Oak Grove
- Date of Incident:
- 2023-04-19
- Time of Incident:
- unknown
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