An Atmore teen and his mother, both charged with attempted murder in the February 27 shooting of another Atmore teen, have both been released from the county jail on bond.
Yashetta McKenzie, 36, was taken into custody at the Escambia County Detention Center Tuesday (March 6) after she posted a $100,000 bond for her son, 17-year-old De’Andre Mitchell. The Atmore woman was processed into the county jail and later released after posting a $150,000 bond.
“The warrant (against McKenzie) was signed several days ago, but we had been unable to locate her,” Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks said late last week. “We went by her house several times, but she wasn’t home, so we picked her up in Brewton.”
Brooks would not elaborate, but said Friday that initial media reports that described the shooting as a drive-by incident, and that McKenzie was driving the vehicle from which the shots were fired, were inaccurate.
“This is still an active investigation, so I’m not going to say a lot about it,” the police chief said. “But there was no drive-by shooting, and (Mitchell’s) mother was not driving the car that he was in. I’ll just say she was complicit in the crime.”
Brooks confirmed that Mitchell is the person who allegedly fired “five or six shots” into a crowd of people gathered at a location in the 300 block of East Fourth Street. Mitchell was reportedly shooting at a teen with whom he had earlier that day had an altercation.
The shots missed Mitchell’s intended target, who was not named, but one of the bullets hit 17-year-old Trent Atchison, piercing his lung and hitting his spine. The victim, who was reportedly left paralyzed, was flown by medical evacuation helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola but has since been transferred to the care of a Birmingham specialist.
Brooks, who noted that he weapon used in the shooting has not yet been recovered, said there “could be” more arrests in connection to the shooting as the investigation progresses.
“We’re still investigating this incident, and we’re going to charge all the parties responsible for this act,” he said. “We’re going where the evidence takes us.”