Virginia State Police, Virginia
End of Watch: Thursday, March 7, 2013
Age: 63
Tour of Duty: 40 years
Badge Number: 802
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 7, 2013
Weapon Used: Rifle; .308 caliber
Suspect Info: Convicted of capital murder
Master Trooper Junius Walker was shot and killed after stopping for what he believed to be a disabled vehicle on southbound I-85, near mile marker 45, in Dinwiddie County at approximately 1:30 pm.
At some point during the encounter, a subject exited the vehicle and opened fire on Trooper Walker as he sat in his patrol car. He was not able to return fire and call for assistance and his patrol car lunged forward and ran off the right side of the road coming to rest in the woods approximately 30 feet from the interstate. The first state troopers to respond just happened to be driving by and observed the subject standing outside Master Trooper Walker's patrol car with a weapon. The responding trooper and the subject exchanged gunfire before the subject fled on foot into the woods. At approximately 1:58 p.m., deputies with the Dinwiddie County Sheriff's Office took the subject into custody without further incident. The subject was discovered hiding at a local business approximately a half mile away from the shooting scene.
Meanwhile, the heat from the engine of Master Trooper Walker's vehicle sparked the brush under his vehicle to catch fire. The two responding troopers were able to pull Master Trooper Walker from his burning vehicle. However, he had been shot multiple times and succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
The subject was charged with capital murder of a police officer, attempted capital murder of a police officer, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. On February 28th, 2014, he was found incompetent to stand trial in connection with Trooper Walker's murder. On July 28th, 2016, he was found guilty on six felony charges: capital murder of a law enforcement officer, attempted capital murder of a law officer, three counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony, and attempted murder. On August 4th, 2016, he was sentenced to two life sentences and 23 years for the killing of Trooper Walker and the attempted murders of another trooper and a truck driver. Because of a Virginia law abolishing parole for all felonies committed after Jan. 1, 1995, he has no chance of ever being released.
Trooper Walker was a member of the U.S Army Reserves and had served with the Virginia State Police for 40 years, and had been assigned to Dinwiddie County for 27 years. He is survived by his wife and two adult children.