STOCKTON, Calif. — The Stockton mother who witnessed her teenage son being shot to death in a Burger King drive-thru is speaking out for the first time since the incident.
Jurriea Kellogg, 31, was enjoying a typical day out with her son, Mekhi Minnick, 15, she explained. She dropped him off to get a haircut while she ran errands. After she picked him up, they decided to stop and order food at the drive-thru of a nearby Burger King on North Wilson Way in Stockton.
While they were waiting in line, she recalls looking down at her phone to check a text message – as she looked up, a gunman at the passenger side window had already taken aim at her son and began to fire multiple rounds that would later claim his life, she said.
“As soon as I look up, he’s already shooting,” Kellogg said.
Kellogg described feeling absolutely helpless during the incident. Having been struck by broken glass and covered in her son’s blood, she later became hysterical as she screamed out for help, she said.
“There was just nothing I could physically do,” Kellogg said.
An off-duty firefighter later approached her bullet-ridden SUV and helped her son until an ambulance arrived, Kellogg said. Mekhi was taken to San Joaquin General Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Mekhi was a sophomore at Edison High School. He loved playing video games and sports. He was especially fond of basketball, his mother said. He had recently told his mother that he wanted to become a barber.
“My son, he’s just a ball of fun and he’s a character himself and he just...brings joy to everybody that he’s around,” Kellogg said.
Kellogg is shocked about what has happened and says she has no idea why someone would attack her son. She is hoping the law enforcement will be able to make an arrest soon.
“I need this person found, I want him in police custody,” Kellogg said. “I need this person off the streets.”
The Stockton Police Department is investigating the incident. A department spokesperson said on Dec. 4, they had reason to believe the incident was targeted.
Kellogg has since expressed issue with the Stockton Police Department’s treatment of her following the incident. She said she was not allowed to go to the hospital with her son and instead was brought into the police station for questioning. Her cell phone was taken from her and she remained in an interview room for about three hours, Kellogg said.
Cell phones are not allowed into interview rooms per department policy, said Officer Joseph Silva, a spokesperson with the Stockton Police Department. Her phone was taken just before the interview and was given back after.
Kellogg said she has not yet seen her son’s body. She attempted to enter San Joaquin General Hospital where he was taken, but was refused, she said. San Joaquin General Hosptial CEO David Culberson said there are a number of restrictions for entrance due to the coronavirus pandemic, but couldn’t immediately comment on the incident. Culberson said the hospital is looking into it.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help with "continuous support and family counseling for his mom and younger brother," the page states.
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