Sharmell Mitchell, a 48-year-old resident of Vallejo, California, tragically lost her life on July 16, 2024, in a violent incident that culminated in a fatal car crash. Mitchell was a passenger in an Isuzu Trooper that was fleeing from gunfire when it collided with two other vehicles at the intersection of Tennessee Street and Vervais Avenue. The chaotic scene was marked by bullet casings scattered several blocks away, indicating the severity of the gunfire.
Witnesses reported that the shooting originated from a black car targeting the white Isuzu Trooper. During the crash, Mitchell was ejected from the vehicle and suffered a severe head injury, initially mistaken for a gunshot wound by first responders. She was taken off life support and passed away the same day.
The incident that led to Mitchell's death was part of a broader surge in gun violence in Vallejo. The Vallejo Police Department launched an investigation into the shooting and crash, which involved multiple vehicles and left the community in shock. Among the officers responding to the scene was Jordon Patzer, one of the officers involved in the 2019 shooting of Mitchell's younger brother, Willie McCoy. McCoy's death had been a highly publicized case, where he was shot 38 times by Vallejo police officers while he was asleep in his car at a Taco Bell drive-thru. The McCoy family had recently settled a civil rights lawsuit against the city for $5 million, one of the largest settlements in Vallejo's history.
In the aftermath of the crash, Vallejo police arrested Jacoby Etter, a 46-year-old man from Rancho Cordova, on suspicion of murder. Etter was apprehended with the assistance of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office and booked into Solano County jail. The investigation revealed that the driver of the white SUV, in which Mitchell was a passenger, had clipped another car, prompting the occupants of that car to chase and shoot at the SUV. This led to the fatal crash that claimed Mitchell's life. The police continued to search for the vehicle involved in the shooting, but it had fled the scene.
Mitchell's death not only highlighted the ongoing issues of gun violence in Vallejo but also brought attention to her family's tragic history with the local police department. She had been a vocal advocate for her brother Willie McCoy, frequently attending vigils and demonstrations in his memory. Her untimely death added another layer of grief and complexity to the family's ongoing struggle for justice and accountability in Vallejo.
