Robber dies after beaten by store employees; case handed to homicide detectives

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Employees reportedly beat a robbery suspect to death at the United Wireless Group on Green Park Circle and now the case is considered a homicide, police said.

Investigators said Wallace Scranton III was trying to rob the store last Thursday when employees fought him and held him down at the southwest Charlotte store until police arrived.

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Officers found Scranton unconscious and performed CPR to revive him. Scranton died Monday at a hospital.

There is the possibility that those employees could be charged. "At the end of the day, it's always about the facts,” attorney James Exum said. “(It’s) always about the circumstances."

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Exum, a prominent defense attorney, believes a successful defense depends on how the employees’ perceived the threat.

"Were they in an imminent situation where they were facing death or serious bodily harm?" Exum said.

Rick Winiker is a former assistant U.S. attorney, and he takes a prosecutor’s perspective.

"Were you using unreasonable force and did that unreasonable force result in this man’s death? If so, you must convict," Winiker said.

Winiker said the right to self-defense is not unlimited.

"If you have somebody who is careless or reckless, whether behind a gun or behind the wheel of a car, you're looking at problems and having to face a jury," Winiker said.

Exum said in almost every situation, it's better to let the police handle it, because they are trained.

Once police wrap up their investigation into the matter, it will be up to the district attorney to decide if these men did nothing wrong, or if they went too far.

Cox Media Group