Jimmy Tevis burst into tears and barely said a word when a Sacramento police detective called him Wednesday night.
Tevis’ daughter started screaming, and so did Tevis’ sister when she heard the news. A man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of shooting Tevis’ son, Colby Tevis, Sacramento police announced Thursday. The 22-year-old was shot on September 21 at his sister’s birthday celebration downtown, becoming the first victim killed during a weekend of violence that left five people dead and three injured in five shootings.
“It was a feeling of relief.” said Jaime Tevis-Littlejohn, Colby Tevis’ aunt, in a telephone interview. “Of course it doesn’t heal what the family is going through.”
Alex Brown III, 29, was arrested on suspicion of murder, assault on a person with a semiautomatic firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to jail records.
Brown is being held without bail. His first arraignment is scheduled for Friday, according to court records.
“We want him to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Tevis-Littlejohn said, noting that her family will be present at the arraignment.
Officers were called to the 2300 block of J Street just before 1 a.m. on September 21 after two men were shot. Colby Tevis died with his sister and friend holding his face as he took his last breaths, his family said at a wake.
The second man survived his injuries.
UPDATE: Thanks to the diligent and dedicated efforts of our detectives, investigators have been able to identify a suspect in this case. Our detectives, with the assistance of multiple specialized units, took 29-year-old Alex Brown from Sacramento into custody on the evening of October… https://t.co/1hq1VzI41K
— Sacramento Police (@SacPolice) October 17, 2024
Tevis-Littlejohn said the family does not know Brown. Police have not yet released a motive for the shooting.
Colby Tevis set an example for those around him when he attended Inderkum High School, family and friends recalled. He was entering his senior year at San Jose State University.
About 600 people arrived at Tevis’ funeral to pay their respects, Tevis-Littlejohn said. It made her proud to hear countless people list all the ways Tevis impacted those around him.
SJSU awarded the 22-year-old a certificate of completion and Inderkum High School started a scholarship in Tevis’ name, Tevis-Littlejohn said.
But the family still struggles with grief and anger; sleep eludes them. Any sleep they manage to find includes dreams about Colby Tevis, Tevis-Littlejohn said. The 22-year-old left behind a grieving mother, father, older sister, twin sister and a host of family and friends.
Questions still remain after the shooting as they try to understand why someone would shoot Tevis.
“The outcome is still the same” despite the arrest, Tevis-Littlejohn said. “Colby’s gone.”
Colby Tevis’ death was one of five shooting deaths that occurred within a 26-hour period in Sacramento last month. Police have not yet announced any arrests in the other four shootings.
