3 Alleged Gang Members Charged With Murder in Sacramento Mass Shooting

Three alleged gang members have been charged with multiple counts of murder stemming from a mass shooting last month in downtown Sacramento, California, that left six people dead and a dozen wounded {snip}

Two of the suspected gunmen are in custody {snip}

“What we know is that this was clearly gang related. There was a gunfight between multiple gang rivals,” Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert identified the murder suspects as Smiley Martin, 27, his 26-year-old brother, Dandrae Martin, and 27-year-old Mtula Payton.

Dandrae Martin, Smiley Martin, and Mtula Payton

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Payton remains on the run and Lester said a team of police officers is doing everything they can to locate him and bring him to justice.

Schubert said the three suspects are each charged with three counts of murder stemming from the killings of “innocent bystanders” — Melinda Davis, 57, Johntaya Alexander, 21, and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21.

Schubert said the three other people killed in the shooting — Sergio Harris, 38, Devazia Turner, 29, and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32 — participated in the gun battle.

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Citing California law, Schubert said if “individuals are involved in a gun battle and they kill innocent bystanders, all participants in that gun battle are responsible for the deaths of those innocent bystanders.”

“It doesn’t matter whose bullet killed who. What matters is that this was a gun battle between rival gang members who came armed to this scene in downtown Sacramento and innocent bystanders died,” Schubert said.

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On April 3, the shooting broke out around 2 a.m. at the corner of 10th and K Streets in a popular nightlife area of Sacramento {snip} Lester said 70 to 80 people were in the vicinity of the gunfire and many were caught in the cross fire.

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