In the early morning hours of October 13, 2001, Pawnee County Sheriff Dwight Calvin Woodrell, Jr., a 36-year-old male, was on his way home after executing a search warrant in another part of the county. His lifelong ambition was to serve as sheriff, a dream he had realized at a young age. On this particular morning, his path took him past Spess Drilling Co.
in Cleveland, Oklahoma, a business that had been the target of several recent burglaries.
At approximately 3:00 a.m., Sheriff Woodrell stopped to investigate suspicious activity he observed at the oil company. He encountered at least one individual and radioed for backup. Before other units could arrive, he was brutally shot multiple times with a. 38 or. 357-caliber revolver. Responding officers found Sheriff Woodrell in his patrol car, gravely wounded but still conscious. In his final moments, he was able to provide a description of his assailant and a possible name before succumbing to his injuries on the way to the hospital. An autopsy would later reveal he had sustained six gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the murder of Sheriff Woodrell spanned nearly three years. Ultimately, two men, Justin Lee Walker and James Craig Taylor, were identified as the primary suspects. Another individual present at the scene, Darwin Lyle Springer, provided testimony that implicated both men in a plan to rob the drilling company. According to Springer, who admitted to being under the influence of drugs at the time, Taylor was initially confronted by the sheriff before Walker intervened and opened fire. Multiple witnesses also came forward stating that both Taylor and Walker had claimed responsibility for the shooting.
Justin Lee Walker and James Craig Taylor were arrested on unrelated charges and were subsequently charged with the murder of Sheriff Woodrell while they were already incarcerated. In April 2006, Justin Lee Walker was convicted for his role in the sheriff's death. The primary suspect in the case was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Sheriff Dwight Calvin Woodrell, Jr.
