Former Grundy County Sheriff’s Deputy Toby Michael “Mike” Holmes was convicted of criminally negligent homicide after firing into a fleeing Ford Mustang and killing 20-year-old passenger Shelby Comer.
The shooting happened late on December 23, 2017, near Tracy City, Tennessee. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Holmes attempted to stop a vehicle, but the driver did not stop. A pursuit followed, and the vehicle traveled to B Mine Road.
The driver was later identified as Jacky Wayne Bean. The TBI said Bean spun the Mustang around so that it faced Holmes. Holmes fired at the vehicle and continued firing as it drove past him. One of the rounds traveled through the vehicle and struck Comer, who was riding as a passenger.
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals later summarized the case by saying Holmes fired his service weapon into the Mustang’s front windshield, driver’s side door, and rear windshield, killing Comer. The court also noted that the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office deadly-force policy said deadly force generally could not be used at or from a moving vehicle except in exigent circumstances and only in an attempt to save human life.
Holmes claimed he believed Bean posed a deadly threat. At trial, he testified that he ordered Bean to show his hands, saw what he believed was a gun placed on the dashboard, and fired as the car came toward him and then passed him. WTVC NewsChannel 9 reported that Holmes also testified he fired again as the car drove away.
The case included disputed forensic testimony. Prosecutors argued Comer died from the deputy’s gunshot. The defense argued she may have already died from methamphetamine toxicity before the bullet struck her. WTVC reported that the jury rejected the defense theory and found that Holmes’s gunshot killed Comer.
Holmes was originally indicted for voluntary manslaughter. During trial, the judge removed that charge from the jury’s consideration, leaving jurors to decide whether Holmes was guilty of reckless homicide or criminally negligent homicide. On February 6, 2020, the jury convicted Holmes of criminally negligent homicide and acquitted him of the more serious reckless-homicide offense.
After the conviction, the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Holmes was no longer employed by the agency. Sheriff Clint Shrum publicly criticized the verdict, calling it a sad day for law enforcement, while acknowledging that Comer was still dead.
On July 10, 2020, WTVC reported that Holmes was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence and three years of probation. The trial court also ordered 1,768 hours of community service at a local drug recovery center.
Holmes appealed. In June 2022, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the criminally negligent homicide conviction but ruled that the trial court erred by denying Holmes judicial diversion. That meant Holmes would remain on probation, but if he completed the diversion terms successfully, the charge could later be dismissed and he could seek expungement.
The appellate court also noted that Holmes had fired into the back of the Mustang as Bean tried to leave the scene, and that Sheriff Shrum testified Holmes should not have fired into the rear of the car. The court said the jury concluded Comer died because Holmes shot her, not because of the amount of methamphetamine in her system.
The outcome left Comer’s family with a conviction, but not a prison sentence. Shelby Comer was not the driver, was not accused of threatening Holmes, and was killed when a deputy continued firing into a moving car during and after a pursuit.
