Two defendants convicted of illegal firearm possession in Sacramento trial
Jury deadlocks on murder counts; defendants face gun possession convictions
The trial of two men accused in Sacramento’s deadliest mass shooting ended in a mistrial Tuesday after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on murder charges, the Guardian reported. Mtula Payton and Dandrae Martin were convicted of being felons in possession of firearms but not of the six killings on K Street in April 2022.
The shooting in the early morning hours of April 3, 2022, occurred near the California state capitol as hundreds of people were leaving bars and clubs. Six people died: Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and DeVazia Turner, 29. The first three were bystanders; Harris, Hoye-Lucchesi and Turner were men whom authorities alleged were involved in the gang conflict that led to the shooting. At least a dozen others were wounded.
The trial lasted more than two months. Jurors heard dozens of hours of surveillance footage and testimony from responding officers, witnesses and both defendants. Prosecutors argued that Payton and Martin went to K Street intending to kill rival gang members. The defense argued the pair fired in self-defense, reacting out of fear when gunfire erupted around them.
Payton testified about joining a local gang at age 11 and said he was afraid during the shooting. “Everybody was running in the same direction as me. People were getting shot around me. I was scared,” he told his attorney during testimony, according to the Guardian. Martin testified that he was never affiliated with a gang.
Initially charged with first-degree murder, the pair faced second-degree murder charges after the jury indicated it was deadlocked, the Guardian reported, citing the Sacramento Bee. The jury could not reach a consensus on the reduced charges.
A third defendant in the case, Dandrae Martin’s brother Smiley Martin, was found dead in his Sacramento County jail cell in 2024 from a methadone overdose, a coroner determined.
Leia Schenk, a victims’ advocate in Sacramento who supports three families of those killed, said the lengthy trial extended the families’ grieving process. “You can’t even begin to heal until this is over. Every time they try to move on with life or get past that day every time and then they come into court, they’re reminded,” she said.
It will now be up to Sacramento County prosecutors to decide whether to pursue a retrial on the murder charges.