IN CALIFORNIA: The man accused of being the triggerman in the deadliest mass shooting in Sacramento history, which killed six people, was identified as Smiley Martin by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office. He died on Wednesday from methadone poisoning.
Twelve other people were hurt in the shooting at the corner of 10th and K streets in April 2022. Martin was charged with the crime along with two others, one of whom was his brother Deandrae Martin.
Prosecutors said the brothers and Mtula Payton were part of two rival gangs that opened fire on innocent people leaving local clubs. This led to multiple murder and attempted murder charges against the three.
Autopsy Result Made Public
Martin’s death was also ruled an accident by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office. There is no word on when the autopsy reports will be made public. When asked about the timing, Rosa Vega, the coroner for Sacramento County, refused to say anything.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office says that Martin was found asleep in his cell in the East-300 pod of the downtown Sacramento County Main Jail on June 8. This happened during a cell check.
Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, said on Wednesday that the investigation into Martin’s death at the jail was still going on.
Three people, ages 21, Johntaya Alexander, 21, and Melinda Davis, 57, died in the gunfight between two rival gangs. People who were thought to have been involved in the shooting—DeVazia Turner, 29, Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32, and Sergio Harris, 38—were also killed.
Mass shooting
Smiley Allen Martin got out of jail after serving five years of his ten-year sentence two months before the deaths. His release, which may have been due to his good behavior and the time he spent in county jail, caused a political stir about rehabilitation and punishment.
Dandrae Martin and his co-defendant Payton are having a preliminary hearing in Sacramento Superior Court right now. The court will meet again on September 11 to hear more from the lead detective investigating the mass killing.
This year, five prisoners in the care of the Sheriff’s Office have died in 11 weeks. Martin’s death was one of them. Last year, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office arrested six people they thought were bringing drugs into jail in return for cash.
This made Sheriff Jim Cooper want to change how the jail’s medical program works. According to a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, Cooper would not say anything about how Martin died.