Oakland’s ‘Hook’ Mitchell wounded, but survives double-homicide shooting

OAKLAND – Local sports figure Demetrius “Hook” Mitchell was wounded multiple times last month in a shooting where two others were killed in West Oakland.

The afternoon shooting on Sept. 7 left Sarah Forrest, 29, and Clarence Jones, 50, dead. Both were Berkeley residents.

The double homicide happened in the 600 block of 23rd Street, just west of Martin Luther King Jr. Way at a homeless encampment which has been the site of other homicides and nonfatal shootings over the past few years.

On Sept. 16, police and city workers began removing people from the camp beneath Interstate 980, resulting in confrontations where at least one journalist was arrested. A week later, Mayor Sheng Thao ordered police and city crackdowns on any encampments posing a risk to health or safety, or located near schools, playgrounds, small businesses and homes.

Mitchell, a basketball playground legend in Oakland, survived the shooting, after being treated for multiple gunshot wounds at Highland Hospital.

Authorities say Mitchell, 55, was visiting the camp when the gunfire erupted and wasn’t the intended target. Police have announced no arrests.

The McClymonds High School grad, who played junior college basketball at Contra Costa College, is known for dunking over cars at Mosswood Park and falling victim to substance abuse.

His childhood friends, which include new College of Alameda men’s basketball coach Gary Payton and Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, have said he had enough talent to join them in the NBA. Mitchell stood barely 5-foot-10 but won dunk contests with his unbelievable jumping ability.

His unstable upbringing in the 1980s left him open to find and use narcotics. He wound up in trouble multiple times in his young adult life, but wasn’t convicted of a violent crime until 1999, for an armed robbery of a Blockbuster Video store.

After Mitchell’s release from state prison, he appeared to be on the right track.

But friends privately worried about the Lower Bottoms native, who they described as having “nine lives.” Their concern turned into fear around Christmas Day 2020, after a rumor spread that he had died of a drug overdose. Family members and friends frantically called the Alameda County Coroner’s Office, looking for information.

The reason no one could reach Mitchell was because he was in Santa Rita Jail, facing charges of stealing from Home Depot. At the time, he had an outstanding bench warrant for a charge of felony assault in San Francisco.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, he avoided jail time after pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault. Mitchell got 12 months supervised probation and was required to undergo substance abuse counseling and treatment.

Mitchell did not respond to requests, through friends, to give an interview to this news organization.

On Nov. 8, Contra Costa College will honor Mitchell as being among the first 100 athletes to join the 75-year-old college’s new sports hall of fame.

Staff writer Jakob Rodgers contributed reporting.