DA: Three Charged with Murder in Connection to Sacramento Shootout That Killed 6

Three suspects have each been charged with three murder counts in connection to what authorities said was a massive gang-related gun battle in Sacramento, California, last month, which left six dead and a dozen wounded.

Mtula Payton, Smiley Martin, and his brother, Dandrae Martin, “have each been charged with three counts of murder in the April 3 killings of Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21,” NBC News reported, citing Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. The three accused murderers face allegations of special circumstances, meaning they are eligible for capital punishment, Schubert said at a press conference Tuesday. She noted a decision had not been made on whether or not to pursue the death penalty.

Payton remains on the loose, while the Martins have both been in custody since Apil, according to NBC News.

The accused have not been charged for the deaths of Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; Sergio Harris, 38; and Devazia Turner, 29; as they “are alleged to have been armed and involved in the gunfight,” NBC News noted.

During a press conference Tuesday, Schubert said an additional 12 individuals were shot.

Court documents state that Hoye-Lucchesi and Smiley are members of the Garden Blocc Crips, which shares a rivalry with the G-Mobb, to which Payton and Turner belonged, KCRA reported. Additionally, the G-Mobb had an alliance with the Del Paso Heights, of which Harris was a member, according to the documents.

The incident unfolded at approximately 1:57 a.m. near 10th Street and K Street, where a crowd of 70 to 80 people was gathered,  the outlet noted, citing court documents and surveillance footage. Smiley was allegedly with another person, who pointed in Turner’s and Payton’s direction.

Per the KCRA report:

Five seconds later, Payton is seen turning and reaching in his waistband. Then Payton and Turner start approaching the corner where the Martin brothers and Hoye-Lucchesi are standing. By 1:58 a.m. Payton and Turner were joined by Harris, according to court documents.
One of the female victims, 21-year-old Johntaya Alexander, was then caught in the middle of the dispute when her car pulls up. Family told KCRA 3 that she was picking up her older sister from a club. They believe she exited her car to either check on her sister or buy the sister a hotdog when shots were fired.

By 2 a.m. Smiley is holding a handgun with an extended magazine. Seventeen seconds later, Turner and Smiley are seen exchanging gunfire, according to court documents. Turner, Harris, Hoye-Lucchesi and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, who was walking there, were all hit by gunfire.

Surveillance video allegedly showed Smiley ditching his weapons just before police made contact with him, KCRA stated. According to the outlet, authorities recovered the firearm, which Schuber identified as a fully automatic 9mm. Video obtained by the outlet reportedly revealed some 76 shots were fired in under one minute. KCRA noted that it was unclear if the fight seen in the clip was connected to the gunbattle.

Watch below: 

A preliminary ballistics test indicated Smiley fired some 28 rounds, KCRA noted, and authorities recovered in excess of 100 shell casings from the street.

Smiley had recently been released from prison despite a letter from Schuber to the parole board pleading that he remain behind bars, as Breitbart News’s AWR Hawkins previously reported:

Martin was convicted in 2018 and received a ten-year sentence but was released early from prison, despite DA Schubert’s opposition to the early release.

DA Schubert wrote a letter to the parole board urging them not to release Smiley: “Inmate Martin has, for his entire adult life, displayed a pattern of criminal behavior. While the current case on review may not be ‘violent’ under the Penal Code, Inmate Martin’s criminal conduct is violent and lengthy.”

She also noted, “Inmate Martin has committed several felony violations and clearly has little regard for human life and the law, which can be shown by his conduct in his prior felony convictions of robbery, possession of a firearm and prior misdemeanor conviction of providing false information to a peace officer.”

Smiley and his brother are due in court on May 27, the AP noted.