Dallas

DeSoto Police Fatally Shoot Man Suspected in 2 Oregon Deaths

Man shot near DeSoto Jack in the Box Tuesday identified as murder suspect Colby Robinson

A Dallas-area man suspected of killing two people and wounding another in Oregon has been fatally shot by DeSoto police.[[299797651,L]]

In a statement Wednesday, DeSoto police said that 26-year-old Colby Robinson was fatally shot by police following a chase that ended on the 7000 block of Altaire Avenue.

Robinson had been charged with two counts of aggravated murder in the Friday night shooting deaths of Gary Pham and his sister-in-law, Susie Pham, whose husband was wounded in the attack.

Portland police said the victims were involved in the medical marijuana industry. Investigators aren't sure if that played a role in the attack.

A bystander, identified to NBC 5 by her family as Chare Bonner, was in the drive-through at a nearby Jack in the Box when the shooting took place. A bullet shattered her car window and struck her in the face.

Doctors were able to remove the bullet and expect her to survive. Shards of glass were also removed from Bonner's eye and doctors hope she'll be able to see again once she is able to open her injured eye.

Both DeSoto officers have been employed by the department since 2010 and are on routine paid administrative leave following the shooting.  The incident is being investigated by the Dallas Police Department Special Investigations Unit and the DeSoto Police Department Internal Affairs Unit.

Oregon Murder Suspect Spotted Twice in Dallas

U.S. Marshals said they spotted Robinson, who is from Dallas, near Interstate 35E and Wintergreen Road in DeSoto Tuesday morning, but he managed to escape.[[299824461,C]]

Tammera Wright was working as a store clerk Tuesday night at the 7-Eleven on East Wintergreen Road when police stopped by to show her a photo of Robinson.

“I promise you, it was like 20, 30 minutes later, I looked up and this man is standing right in my face in my line,” she said. “I'm a cashier, right, so when I looked up, this is exactly how he was standing and I was like, 'Hold on one second,' and he was like, 'OK.'"

A Dallas-area man suspected of killing two people and wounding another in Oregon has been fatally shot by DeSoto police.

Wright said it appeared Robinson was holding something behind him, and she went to the back of the store where she called 911.

"I was like, 'The murderer is in the building!'" she recalled.

Minutes later, DeSoto police spotted Robinson in a U-Haul on I-35E and attempted to stop him. Robinson exited the freeway and later tried to escape on foot.

Officers pursued and cornered him at a Jack in the Box on Camp Wisdom Road, where the fatal shootout took place.

Isaiah Moreland lives nearby and said he heard eight or nine gunshots.

"I heard one shot, then a break, then like eight shots," he said. "I looked out the window and there were about six cops that drew their guns."

Witness April Washington said she saw the man at the Jack in the Box and recognized the tattoos.

"That is the guy I seen," she said. "I remember the tattoo on the side of the neck."

“Everything happened so quick, it’s scary now thinking about it,” said Wright, the 7-Eleven clerk.

Now, she is realizing how crucial a split-second decision turned out to be.

“I think had I said something like, 'Can I help you,' or, 'What can I get for you,' or something like that, the gun would have came from behind him,” she said.

Robinson's criminal history includes a 2012 arrest for possession of drug paraphernalia and a 2013 charge of evading arrest in Dallas.

NBC 5's Amanda Guerra, Ray Villeda and Frank Heinz contributed to this report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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