Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Brian Colletti murdered in downtown Wilmington
BRIAN COLLETTI
DUPLIN PAIR CHARGED
IN FATAL SHOOTING 07/27/2004
Star-News
Category: Local/State
Published: 07/27/2004
Page: 1B, 4B
Duplin pair charged in fatal shooting
Byline: By Ken Little, Staff Writer
Two cousins from Duplin County have been charged in connection with the
fatal shooting early Sunday of Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Brian
Colletti, Wilmington police said Monday.
James Lee Moore, 18, is charged with second-degree murder. Jeffrey Moore,
20, is charged with being an accessory after the fact to second-degree
murder.
Petty Officer Colletti, 24, was a Fayetteville native and on leave from
his duty station at Ocean City, Md., a Coast Guard spokesman said. He
had re-enlisted Thursday for a six-year stint in the service.
Detectives spent Monday interviewing acquaintances of the Moores in Duplin
County.
Petty Officer Colletti died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, according
to the results of an autopsy performed Monday in Jacksonville for the
N.C. Medical Examiner's Office by Dr. Charles L. Garrett.
The bullet that killed Petty Officer Colletti passed through his chest
into his right arm, Dr. Garrett said.
The shooting happened about 2:20 a.m. Sunday in a driveway next to the
city parking deck in the 100 block of North Second Street. Police have
provided few details.
Community Relations Officer Linda Rawley said that Petty Officer Colletti
fought with several off-duty Marines before the gunfire.
Shortly afterward, he was approached by several other men and shot.
The first fight was "com|pletely unrelated" to the shooting,
Officer Rawley said.
"These guys came up and words were exchanged and they shot him,"
she said. "We're very glad we were able to get the two young men.
Some other arrests may be forthcoming."
The Moores, both from the Wallace area, appeared Monday in New Hanover
County District Court and entered not guilty pleas. James Moore is held
on $500,000 bail. Jeffrey Moore was jailed on $250,000 bail.
James Moore was under court supervision at the time of his arrest, according
to state Department of Correction records. Mr. Moore was placed under
a year of supervision following an October 2003 misdemeanor conviction
in Duplin County of possession of drug paraphernalia. He also was given
a one-year suspended jail sentence.
Hundreds of people congregate on weekend nights in downtown Wilmington
to socialize and drink. Officer Rawley said the shooting isn't
an indication the area has become more dangerous.
"This was an isolated incident. It can happen
anywhere," she said. "It's the first incident
like this in a long time. It was just an incident where you got the wrong
folks in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Petty Officer Colletti joined the Coast Guard in 1998 and was stationed
at Ocean City in September 2003 after duty at Oregon Inlet, north of Cape
Hatteras. He was a certified boat coxswain, which qualified him to command
a 47-foot motorboat with a crew of four on missions that included search
and rescue. Petty Officer Colletti also was a certified boarding officer.
Given his age and time in the service, his qualifications represented
"quite an accomplishment," Coast Guard Ensign Chris Lucero said
Monday. Ensign Lucero is stationed in Chincoteague, Va., but re|cently
spent a month in Ocean City qualifying on the 47-foot motor boat.
His training instructor was Petty Officer Colletti.
"He was a very, very able mentor, with a lot of patience. He is just
the type of person we look for," Ensign Lucero said.
"It doesn't come easy to get the opportunity to drive one of these
boats. He was a lifesaver, and now he's gone," he said. "He
was definitely dedicated to everything that we did."
A Coast Guard memorial service might be held. "We're waiting on the
family to tell us their wishes," Ensign Lucero said.
COAST GUARDSMAN KILLED IN SHOOTING
Star-News
Published: 07/26/2004
Page: 1B, 3B
Coast Guardsman killed in shooting
Byline: By Sam Scott, Staff Writer
Gene Gorman said his nephew seemed to loom taller and buffer every time
he saw him. Only nine years the senior, Mr. Gorman said he felt a tinge
of envy at Brian Colletti's physique.
But it was his nephew's mental maturation that makes his death more painful.
Petty Officer Colletti was a man who had life figured out and was happy
in what he was doing, he said.
And it was in that prime that someone killed the Coast Guard petty officer
early Sunday morning in the heart of downtown Wilmington. Petty Officer
Colletti was shot around 2:20 a.m. in a driveway next to the city parking
deck in the 100 block of North Second Street, said Officer Linda Rawley
with the Wilmington Police Department.
He would have been 25 next Monday.
Police offered no motive and few details. Officer Rawley said she wasn't
sure where in the body he'd been shot, where exactly he died or what led
to the confrontation.
She did say that witnesses said several men were seen fleeing in a silver
car, perhaps a Chevy Malibu or Nissan Sentra, with its rear window smashed
out.
Her son indeed had a sculpted body, said Lynda Simmons from her home in
Fayetteville. While serving near the Outer Banks, he took second place
in a best body contest, she said. Another time, he received unlimited
Buffalo wings at Hooters after winning for best legs, she said.
But it was Petty Officer Colletti's personality that really made him special,
she said. He was kind, loyal and as loving of others as they are of him
even now, she said. Friends from Texas, California and Hawaii are making
the trek to Fayetteville, she said.
He was always giving, Ms. Simmons said. When her son was 16, he helped
a fourth-grader having problems because his father was away in the military,
she said. Petty Officer Colletti would meet the boy in the morning, take
him to classes and check with him at lunch, she said.
"Brian just thought it was nothing," she said.
Driving apparently wasn't a strong suit, however. Even a trip to the grocery
store could turn into a white-knuckle affair, Mr. Gorman said. And he
could be absent-minded.
"He couldn't remember where he put his car keys, but he could always
remember lines from movies," Ms. Simmons said.
But he was the type to smooth things over. Friends called him "Peacemaker,"
his mother said. On Sunday, apparently, he got caught in the middle. Ms.
Simmons said a Wilmington detective told her that the confrontation occurred
as Petty Officer Colletti and his friends were returning to their cars
in the parking garage and the alleged attackers passed in their car.
"This time he couldn't make the peace," she said. He had a bulletproof
vest from the Coast Guard in his car, she said.
He had only come home to Fayetteville on Friday, she said. He was on leave
from his station in Ocean City, Md., after having just re-enlisted in
the Coast Guard for six more years.
They went to lunch and he told her about a girl he wanted her to meet,
she said. Just before he left to see friends in Wilmington, they took
their last photo together.
Mr. Gorman said the tragedy has struck down a man who had it all together.
He loved his career in the Coast Guard, and he was happy, Mr. Gorman said.
"My nephew was in a good place in his life," he said. "And
this morning at two o'clock he was in the worst place."
Sam Scott: 343-2370
sam.scott@starnewsonline.com
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