Sharmell Mitchell, the oldest sister of Willie McCoy, died last week as the result of a collision that occurred as she fled a shooting in central Vallejo.
Officers responded to the intersection of Tennessee Street and Vervais Avenue at about 12:36 p.m. last Tuesday following reported gunshots, police said. When officers arrived, they found a three-vehicle crash involving a Mercedes-Benz ML350, an Isuzu Trooper, and a Kia Soul.
Bullet casings ejected by a gun fired from a fourth car littered the ground several blocks away. Sarah Smith, a Vallejo resident, said she was walking to a nearby bus stop with her 13-year-old cousin and other family members when the shooting occurred.
“It was a black car,” Smith said of the shooter’s vehicle. “They were shooting at that white car,” she said, referencing the Isuzu, which was lying on its side. “Almost hit my little cousin — the bullets passed right by him.”
Mitchell, 48, was thrown from the Isuzu and suffered a head injury that first responders initially mistook for a gunshot wound, according to witnesses and dispatch audio. She was taken off life support last Friday and died the same day, according to police. Her attorney Melissa Nold confirmed Mitchell’s identity, which authorities have not yet released to the public.
In 2019, Mitchell’s younger brother Willie McCoy was killed in an infamous shooting by Vallejo police. McCoy, 20, had fallen asleep in the drive-through of a local Taco Bell, a gun allegedly in his lap. After McCoy stirred in his sleep, six Vallejo police officers fired 55 bullets at the young man, striking him 38 times. He died at the scene.
Mitchell was a frequent fixture at vigils and demonstrations for her brother, Nold said. Represented by Nold, the McCoy family in January settled a civil rights lawsuit against Vallejo for $5 million, one of the largest such settlements in the city’s history.
At least seven Vallejo police detectives responded to last week’s deadly shooting and crash, which occurred amid a surge of gun violence in Vallejo in recent weeks. Among them was Jordon Patzer, one of the officers who killed McCoy. After learning of his involvement in the investigation, Nold said she contacted Interim Police Chief Jason Ta, who told her that Patzer would not serve as a lead detective or family liaison in the case.
“I wanted to ensure that that wasn’t going to be an insult to injury to another murder victim,” Nold said. “He seemed to completely understand why that would be uncomfortable for anybody involved.”
Mitchell’s death marked the 13th homicide in the city of Vallejo in 2024, according to police. A vigil in the days after the killing that drew dozens of people was disrupted when individuals pointed guns at members of the crowd, according to dispatch audio. An officer later reported finding bullet casings nearby, but there were no reported injuries.
Mitchell at times struggled with homelessness, according to the Vallejo Times-Herald. In 2016, she named her son after then-Vallejo Police Ofc. Hans Williams, who earlier that year encountered Mitchell allegedly squatting in a home on Sonora Pass. After learning Mitchell was pregnant, Williams took her to a prenatal care clinic, staying with her for hours.
Reached by phone, Williams broke down in tears upon hearing of Mitchell’s death.
“She was a good woman, you know?” Williams said. “She was a good mom. She had a great group of kids.”
Williams said he hoped to see a fund established to help Mitchell’s children.
“Those children have got to have some sort of opportunity where they’re celebrated, they’re protected,” he told Open Vallejo. “It’s important that Sharmell never be forgotten, but what is more important, there can’t be any more loss for that family.”
Vallejo police have not confirmed any arrests in connection with the case — a point of frustration for Nold. She asked the public to call her or submit an anonymous tip on her website with information about the shooting.
“I am still collecting any information related to the case until somebody is arrested,” she said. “That information will be turned over to law enforcement without being publicly released.”
A vigil for Mitchell and other recent victims of violence in Vallejo will take place at 5 p.m. Friday at the Vallejo Police Department headquarters at 111 Amador Street.
“The family just wants to know what happened,” Nold said. “I ask people to pray for her family and children.”
This article has been updated to include comment from former Vallejo Police Ofc. Hans Williams.
