A man shot himself Thursday afternoon on Beach Drive while fleeing police, who suspected him in a series of burglaries over the past several days. A passenger took control of the vehicle after the shooting and crashed into stone barriers, police said.
Christopher McElwain, 39, was pronounced dead at the scene, and the passenger, 27-year-old Dana Lanham, was arrested and charged in connection to the burglaries. Both were on the lam; Lanham had a warrant for her arrest for burglary out of Kentucky, where McElwain also was wanted for trafficking in methamphetamine.
The chase began around 12:50 p.m. after an officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle at 23rd Street and Frankford Avenue. The burglaries had prompted police to assign additional officers to the area, and the officer matched the vehicle and its occupants to descriptions provided by the victims of the burglaries, police said.
The officer made contact with the driver and returned to the squad car, at which point the driver fled, according to Panama City Police Deputy Chief Scott Ervin. Officers chased the car south on Frankford Avenue to Beach Drive, where the "driving action and pattern of the suspect vehicle changed, becoming erratic," according to a news release.
When the vehicle stopped, officers found McElwain dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Lanham, who was not injured, was taken to the police station for questioning and later booked into the Bay County Jail on five counts of principle to burglary, one count of dealing in stolen property and a fugitive from justice charge.
Police blocked Beach Drive to traffic between Fortune Avenue and Frankford Avenue until about 2:30 while investigators photographed the scene and removed the body.
It's not clear how many burglaries the duo is suspected in. Investigators continue attempts to recover and identify stolen property, and additional charges against Lanham are expected.
For more background on this story and to see video from this incident, click here to visit the website of News Herald out of Panama City.
