Death of man who struggled with Walmart security ruled a homicide

The death of a man after he was restrained by security guards in a Walmart parking lot on the Northwest Side has been ruled a homicide by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Donnell J. Burns, 23, died primarily of "stress and asphyxia" after struggling with the guards in the 4600 block of West North Avenue on July 25, the office said.

Contributing factors were toxic levels of the drug phencyclidine, or PCP, in his blood and abnormalities in his coronary artery. PCP is an anesthetic that can cause hallucinations.

Burns and a woman had been stopped by security officers around 4:30 p.m. after they tried to return some stolen merchandise, Chicago police said at the time.

They resisted and police officers were called, police said. Responding offers found Burns handcuffed on the pavement and "experiencing a health issue," police said.

He was taken to Norwegian Hospital, where he was pronounced. The woman with him was charged with one misdemeanor count of retail theft.

Chicago police did not say whether any charges would be filed as a result of the ruling.

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