On April 19, 2023, Gary L. Denham, 53, was shot during a road rage encounter on Interstate 70 near Oak Grove, Missouri. Denham was driving a green Ford pickup when a shot fired from a white Hyundai sedan pierced the driver’s side door, struck him, and caused his vehicle to leave the roadway and crash into a parked car at a nearby travel center. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Denham was a longtime Oak Grove resident and an electrician with IBEW Local 124 for more than two decades. His obituary described him as a family man who enjoyed fishing, yard work, grilling, and time with his wife, Cindy, and their two sons. The suspect, identified as 18-year-old Charles J. Smith Jr. of Cape Girardeau, fled the scene in the Hyundai. Officers found the vehicle in Lafayette County and attempted a traffic stop; Smith refused, leading to a high-speed pursuit that continued into Saline County.

Smith told investigators he fired the weapon and said it was intended as a warning shot after the victim allegedly made obscene gestures. Prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and two counts of armed criminal action. Does anyone who knew Gary remember him or have information about the incident that could help clarify what happened?