Fifty seconds to a minute. Nearly 115 bullets.
That’s how long it took, and what it took, to kill six people and injure another 12 on April 3, 2022, during the worst mass shooting incident in Sacramento’s history.
A woman shielded her sister, Johntaya Alexander, with her body amid gunfire and watched a bloody Alexander inhale her last breath. A 12-year-old hot dog seller stood feet away from men exchanging gunfire as screams rang out from people running and falling. A homeless woman, described as a sassy and kind spirit, died where she often slept in between businesses on K Street.
These details emerged Wednesday during a preliminary hearing in Sacramento Superior Court as attorneys wrapped up their questioning of Sacramento police Detective Shaun McGovern, the lead investigator on the case.
Prosecutors also called upon a gang expert with the Sacramento Police Department who testified that a single video uploaded on social media by a suspect challenged an opposing gang and led to the bloody confrontation.
Brothers Dandrae Martin and Smiley Martin as well as Mtula Payton were charged in the shooting that police said broke out when two rival gang members opened fire at each other.
But Smiley Martin, 29, died in the downtown Sacramento County Main Jail in early June from a methadone overdose. Prosecutors have formally dropped the charges against him.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office charged Dandrae Martin and Payton each with three counts of murder for the shooting deaths of innocent bystanders Yamile Martinez, 21; Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57.
Prosecutors have not charged the defendants with the deaths of Joshua Hoye-Lucchessi, 32; Sergio Harris, 38; and Devazia Tuner, 29, because they say all three were involved in the gunfight.
Alexander’s sister said she saw Oshe White get into a confrontation with five to six men. The body language between White and the group prompted her to leave the area, McGovern testified.
The 12-year-old boy, Richard Corral of Antioch, saw two groups of men cursing at each other on the corner of 10th and K streets, where gunfire went on to erupt, McGovern testified.
Richard, who arrived with other hot dog sellers to the area, said they sold their wares to patrons exiting clubs in hopes to buy video games, McGovern testified. But soon Richard saw Mtula Payton lift his shirt to show the gun concealed in his waistband as the shooting began, McGovern said.
Defense attorney Reid Kingsbury, representing Payton, broke down the shooting into seconds in an effort to show his client could not have fired the shot that killed Martinez and Johntaya Alexander.
The shooting broke out at 2 a.m. and 37 seconds, McGovern testified. Martinez collapsed one second after gunfire broke out, and Alexander fell about 2 a.m. and 42 seconds, McGovern said.
Payton didn’t start shooting until 2 a.m. 47 seconds, McGovern testified, which Kingsbury said proves Payton did not fire the kill shots for the victims.
And there was initially no animosity between Payton and the Martin brothers in the surveillance footage that captured each movement of the night, McGovern testified. Payton told investigators he had no animosity with Smiley Martin and the two hugged when meeting in downtown Sacramento, McGovern testified.
But McGovern also said he wasn’t aware of what Payton discussed when hugging Smiley Martin, during a time when Dandrae Martin was also in the group.
‘Basically a challenge’
Sacramento police Lt. Zach Eaton, a gang expert, broke down the rivalries between different gangs in Sacramento.
Payton is a member of G-MOBB gang in a subset called Guttah. The Martin brothers are members of the Garden Blocc Crips, a subset of the 29th Street Crips.
The information relayed about the Martin brothers led their mother, present in court, to say “What?” aloud and in disbelief. Judge Maryanne Gilliard reprimanded her, and a deputy shushed her.
Just hours before the shooting, Smiley Martin filmed himself and several others in 2500 block of Traction Avenue in Old North Sacramento waving handguns and talking. Notably, Easton testified, Smiley Martin said he was in the territory of a rival gang as a Garden Blocc Crip.
The Old North Sacramento area is synonymous with the Del Paso Heights Blood gangs, Easton testified, and enemies to Smiley Martin. Videos posted by Martin showed his car and gun — all provocations to rival gang members to confront him if they have a problem, Easton testified.
Rival gang members cannot back down from shooting if handguns come out during a confrontation, Easton testified, as they did ultimately on 10th and K streets. It’s a sign of disrespect that would cause members to be called a joke, Easton said.
“It’s basically a challenge,” Eaton said.
Attorneys will be back Oct. 15 to continue testimony.
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