Carl Douglas Buchanan

In the autumn of 1983, Danville, Virginia, was a city grappling with the shifting tides of its tobacco and textile-based economy. It was in this setting that Carl Douglas Buchanan, a 41-year-old man, went to work at a Fast Fare convenience store. His life would tragically end in the early morning hours of November 22, 1983, a victim of a violent crime spree that had already cast a shadow of fear over the community.

The day of Carl's death was the culmination of a string of robberies that had Danville on edge. Just eight days earlier, another convenience store clerk, Betty Jean Barker, had been shot and killed during a robbery at a Kwik Stop market in Pittsylvania County. The two crimes, both marked by their brutality for a small financial gain, were the work of one man: Johnny Watkins Jr.

On that November morning, Watkins entered the Fast Fare where Carl was working. The details of their interaction are not widely available, but the outcome was tragically similar to the previous robbery. For a mere $34.74, which included a distinctive $2 bill, Carl was shot and killed. The weapon used was the same. 22-caliber pistol that had been used to murder Betty Jean Barker.

The investigation into the two murders moved swiftly. A crucial break in the case came when Watkins's brother, Darnell, used the stolen $2 bill at a local clothing store. This led the police to Johnny Watkins Jr. Upon his arrest on the evening of November 22, Watkins was questioned about the murder of Carl Douglas Buchanan. Initially, he denied involvement and requested a lawyer. However, after being confronted with his brother's statement implicating him, Watkins eventually confessed to the shooting, though he claimed it was in self-defense.

The legal proceedings that followed brought to light the full extent of Watkins's crimes. His accomplice, Quentin Nash, became a key witness for the prosecution. Nash testified that he and Watkins had been at a card game before the first murder, and Watkins had expressed his frustration with being "broke" and his intention to "rob a place." Nash agreed to act as a lookout during the robbery of the Kwik Stop where Betty Jean Barker was killed.

Johnny Watkins Jr. was tried and convicted for the murders of both Betty Jean Barker and Carl Douglas Buchanan. For each of the capital murder convictions, he received a death sentence. The Virginia Supreme Court upheld the sentences, and after years of appeals, Watkins was executed by electrocution on March 3, 1994.

The case of Carl Douglas Buchanan's murder is not an unsolved mystery, but a concluded chapter in Danville's criminal history. While justice was served with the conviction and execution of his killer, the passage of time has obscured the personal story of the man who lost his life. Online records offer no glimpse into his personality, his family, or the life he lived beyond his tragic death. His mother's obituary simply notes that he predeceased her. Carl Douglas Buchanan is remembered as one of two victims in a violent crime spree, his life cut short for the contents of a cash register. The community of Danville, while having moved on from the economic hardships of the 1980s, holds the memory of these events as a somber reminder of a time of fear and loss.