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Autopsy shows armed-robbery suspect was shot multiple times
By Lynn Hotaling
An autopsy report released last month shows that a suspect in a November Cullowhee armed robbery was shot seven times by local deputies.
Dr. Cyntthia Gardner, a pathologist with the state medical examiner’s office in Chapel Hill, determined that Dewann Christopher McCollum, 32, who was killed Nov. 15 at Moss Apartments in Cullowhee, died of multiple high velocity gunshot wounds to his torso.
Toxicology studies revealed a blood alcohol level of .09 (.08 is the threshold for a driving while intoxicated charge in North Carolina), but did not show the presence of amphetamines, cocaine or opiates, according to Gardner’s report.
McCollum’s shooting has been under investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation since the day of his death. That probe is ongoing, and investigators are waiting for results on items sent to the state crime lab before completing a report, said William McKinney, a spokesman for N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper.
When the SBI report is finalized, it will be given to Mike Bonfoey, district attorney for the 30th Judicial District, for review.
Bonfoey said Tuesday that while he doesn’t yet have the report from the SBI, he is expecting it soon.
“I’m sure it will be extensive,” he said. “It would be wrong for me to comment at this time.”
When contacted Tuesday morning, Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe also declined comment.
“I’ve received no information as to the results of the independent SBI investigation,” he said.
McCollum was the chief suspect in an armed robbery and shooting at Cullowhee’s China Dragon restaurant that occurred early last Nov. 16. An armed robber, who law enforcement personnel believe was McCollum, entered the China Dragon around midnight and accosted several employees who were working late on a kitchen remodeling project. When they resisted, he began shooting and injured three.
According to a search warrant, authorities obtained a warrant for McCollum’s arrest because China Dragon owner Qi Lin, one of three who was shot during the robbery attempt, positively identified McCollum as the assailant. Lin said he recognized McCollum as the man who had helped deliver a refrigerator to the restaurant earlier that day. Lin purchased the appliance from Wanda Moss, who employed McCollum on a part-time basis.
Evidence at the crime scene also linked McCollum to the incident. Material found adhering to the bottom of the suspect’s shoes revealed the presence of a gray-colored composite material that was found to be elementally consistent with gray composite material (mortar mix) found at the restaurant.
The Sheriff’s Emergency Tactical Team shot McCollum at approximately 10 a.m. on Nov. 15, after he allegedly lunged at them with a 10-inch kitchen knife in the empty apartment where he had been hiding.
It is believed that McCollum entered the restaurant on old N.C. 107 armed with a .22 caliber pistol. The gun used in the robbery attempt matched the description of a gun that was stolen two days prior to the robbery. (The weapon was not located, though a nearby section of the Tuckaseigee River was searched in the days following McCollum’s death.)
The assailant believed to be McCollum demanded money from the register and ordered two employees working in the dining room to get on the floor. He also attempted to sexually assault employee Becky Lin.
Three employees who were working in the kitchen area then came into the dining room in an attempt to get McCollum to leave. During the ensuing confrontation, the gunman began firing randomly, hitting Qi Lin and employees Jie Lin and Caibo Lin.
McCollum had an extensive criminal history in Fayetteville. Records on file in Cumberland County show that McCollum was found guilty on charges of possessing and trafficking cocaine with intent to sell in 2004. He faced 31 years in prison, but entered a plea agreement whereby he agreed to be an undercover informant for authorities there. Cumberland County had an outstanding fugitive warrant on McCollum at the time of his death.
Two investigations into events surrounding McCollum’s death were launched in November. The Sheriff’s Office and the SBI conducted a joint investigation of the China Dragon shootings, while SBI agents independently investigated McCollum’s death. An SBI investigation is standard protocol after a shooting by law enforcement officers, Ashe said in November.
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