Her ‘bright future’ was cut short by a bullet intended for someone else, CMPD says

Sherilyn “Alicia” Drew sat in her bedroom just after midnight on May 31, working on one of her many hobbies when an unknown vehicle drove by her family’s north Charlotte home and opened fire.

Moments later, the 21-year-old college student was gone — another victim in an increasing number of shootings into homes and vehicles, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Wednesday.

So far in 2021, there have been 499 cases involving someone being struck by gunfire while inside their home or vehicle, a 27% increase compared to last year at this time, police Lt. Bryan Crum said during CMPD’s weekly news conference.

For 2020, CMPD previously reported 927 incidents of shootings into occupied homes and vehicles.

“I think that these crimes are really troubling because your home should be your safe haven,” Crum said. “Everyone comes home and you want to be safe, and for it to suddenly become a crime scene, I can’t imagine what that’s like.”

In Drew’s case, Crum said the wrong home was targeted, and detectives don’t know who the suspects were looking for.

“It had nothing to do with Alicia,” he said.

Drew, a biology major who was to be a senior this fall at Georgia State University, taught herself American Sign Language, Korean and German, Crum said.

“This case should outrage the community,” he said. “In addition to losing a young woman with a bright future, her family, friends and the community have lost her. We don’t know the lives that she would have touched if she wasn’t taken from us.”

These incidents are on the rise because of minor disputes leading to shots being fired, police said.

“When folks have some of these minor disagreements they bring a gun to it in order to deal with their problems, and the unfortunate part is they’re disregarding the human life of everyone around them because they’re involving everybody else,” police Lt. Joan Gallant said. “We’re frustrated for our community because they shouldn’t have to suffer.”

Drew’s family hopes someone in the community will come forward with information that will lead to the arrest of her killers, police said. There’s a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case, Crum said.

“Alicia’s family tells us that she was somebody that would bend over backwards to help someone if they needed anything,” he said. “Well today, Alicia and her family need your help.”

Anyone with information about Drew’s death, or any other incidents involving someone shooting inside an occupied home or vehicle, should call CMPD at 704-432-8477 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Recent shootings into homes, vehicles

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police provided updates on recent cases involving shootings into either occupied homes or vehicles:

▪ Trejuan Coleman, 34, was charged for shooting into a vehicle with four children — ages 1 and 4 years old, and two 7-year-olds — and two adults inside of it on June 5. One round struck the 1-year-old, police said.

▪ Vadoll Byars, 27, was charged on June 8 for shooting into an occupied vehicle with the victim’s own firearm. The suspect knew the victim, stole her purse, removed the firearm from the purse and fired into the victim’s vehicle as she was leaving, police said. She was struck in the shoulder.

▪ David Hollowell, 40, was charged for shooting into a vehicle on Interstate 485 on May 14. Howell did not know the two people inside the vehicle but shot into the vehicle after a merging dispute, police said. The victims were unharmed.

▪ Christopher Garland, 19, was arrested for a May 1 incident in which police say he shot into a Tanglewood apartment following a fight. An infant and four adults inside the residence were not harmed.

▪ Tammy Boyd, 23, and Katelyn McIntyre, 22, were charged on June 30 for shooting into a vehicle occupied by three people, including a 3-year-old child. The shooting, which was posted on social media, stemmed from a fight between a number of women. No one was injured.

▪ Shirez Sinclair, 25, was charged for shooting into an occupied apartment on April 26. Officers heard gunshots and saw a speeding vehicle, which they later found. They learned the shooting was the result of a drug deal transaction in a CVS pharmacy parking lot. Multiple shell casings were found in the area, and a home with a 6-year-old girl and an adult inside had been struck.

▪ Jamel Daniels, 23, and Tyrell Brace, 24, were arrested following a shooting on April 13 in the a parking lot of Tanglewood Apartments. Their dispute, which began when Daniels nearly ran over someone with his car, turned into gunfire, police said. An apartment was struck. Four people were inside, including a 3- and 5-year-old.