Trial of Portland man accused in the brutal assault and robbery of Donny Lewis underway

File Photo - Donny Lewis with his dogs in April 2024 while collecting shopping carts on West Fourth Street.

By Tom Peterson

The Dalles, Ore., Jan. 26, 2026 — A three-day jury trial began Monday in Wasco County Circuit Court for Jason McCollum, a 50-year-old Portland man charged in connection with a violent home-invasion robbery that left Donald “Donny” Lewis of The Dalles severely injured and hundreds of thousands of dollars in rare coins, jewelry and cash stolen.

McCollum faces nine charges: first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, first-degree assault, third-degree assault, first-degree aggravated theft, first-degree theft, first-degree unlawful use of a weapon, and menacing. Janet Stauffer is presiding over the trial.

The State of Oregon is prosecuting the case through Wasco County District Attorney Kara Davis, with assistance from Hood River County District Attorney Matthew Ellis, who originally prosecuted the case following the January 2021 crimes and is serving in a special prosecutor capacity.

In opening statements, Ellis told jurors the case stems from a brutal home invasion at the residence of Lewis in West The Dalles during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ellis said Lewis was home on the evening of Jan. 22, 2021, preparing supper when there was a knock at the door. It was dark and cold, Ellis said, when “two large men barreled into the room with guns.”

According to Ellis, Lewis attempted to defend himself by reaching for his own .38-caliber handgun, but the intruders took it from him and used it to pistol-whip him. Ellis said Lewis was repeatedly kicked in the head with heavy boots before the assailants moved directly to a back bedroom. and ransacked it, dumping out drawers and turning over the bedspring and mattress.

Ellis told jurors the men took cash, jewelry and rare coins, and dragged a safe from Lewis’ closet. He said Lewis hands and ankles were zip-tied and a rope was placed around his neck and tied to his ankles.

During testimony, Davis showed jurors photographs taken shortly after the attack depicting Lewis with a bloodied face, severe injuries, blackened eyes and a fractured eye socket.

“He is still affected by the injury today,” Ellis said earlier.

The State alleges McCollum was the third participant in the assault and robbery. Two other men — Christopher Allan Jaha, and Jeremy Lee Anderson — have previously been convicted in crimes associated with the home invasion. Anderson is serving a 100 month term and Jaha is awaiting sentencing set for February. Christian Dlouhy has also been convicted in connection with the crime.

Charges were also initially brought against Marshall McFarland of Happy Valley but were later dismissed.

Ellis told jurors investigators determined the suspects used a rented Dodge Charger to travel from the Portland area to The Dalles and back. Police obtained a search warrant for GPS data from the rental vehicle, which Ellis said showed the car leaving Portland area, stopping at Lewis’ home at the time of the crime, and returning to Portland approximately two hours later.

Ellis said the GPS data allowed detectives to gather surveillance video of one occupant of the vehicle at multiple locations in The Dalles. He told jurors that evidence led police to Jaha, who later cooperated with investigators.

“I’m not asking you to like Jaha,” Ellis said. “He’s a criminal.”

Ellis told jurors that Jaha identified Anderson and McCollum as participants in the crime. He said McCollum did not know investigators also had surveillance video from Portland showing three men exiting the Dodge Charger approximately two hours after the robbery. According to Ellis, the video was recorded from cameras in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility at 4310 S. Macadam Ave. and will be presented at trial.

Defense attorney Hoevet Olson argued in his opening statement that the State’s case relies entirely on Jaha’s testimony, a criminal who was trading testimony for leniency at his own sentencing.

“All video points to Jaha,” Olson said, adding that while it is undisputed a crime occurred and Lewis was victimized, Jaha was “in the middle of it.” Olson also argued that surveillance video showing three men exiting the Dodge Charger on South Macadam Avenue does not establish McCollum’s presence.

Olson told jurors there is no physical evidence tying McCollum to the crime such as DNA evidence placing him at the scene. He further told jurors that DNA recovered from a glove found outside the home did not identify McCollum, saying testing showed the presence of Lewis’ DNA, Jaha’s DNA and that of Marshall McFarland, whose case related to the incident was dismissed in 2023.

Charges were initially brought against McFarland, who was arrested about a month after the robbery and assault. Prosecutors have said McFarland became a key figure early in the investigation after GPS data from the rented Dodge Charger placed the vehicle near his residence in Happy Valley around the time of the crime.

Testimony began Monday with The Dalles Police Sgt. Josh Jones, who was assigned to night patrol and had 19 years of service at the time of the attack.

During Jones’ testimony, Davis entered approximately 70 photographs into evidence showing the crime scene and Lewis’ injuries as they appeared shortly after the assault. Jones testified to the accuracy of the photographs and the location of key eveidence such as the glove, shoeprints and tire tracks and described a large bloodstain found in the hallway of the home.

Jones also identified pocket knives and scissors found at the residence. Items said Lewis used to cut the zip ties binding his hands and feet after the assailants left. Jones said Lewis partially freed himself, crossed the street to a neighbor’s home and neighbors called for help, at which point police were sent to the crime scene.

During cross-examination, Olson questioned Jones about details surrounding the Dodge Charger, focusing on where the vehicle was allegedly parked in relation to the house and emphasizing uncertainties in the evidence of where the car was actually parked during the assault.

The trial is scheduled to continue through Wednesday as additional police testimony and verifications of evidence were expected today.