Three suspects accused of unleashing gunfire in the heart of Sacramento last month are facing murder charges in connection with the mass shooting, which claimed the lives of six people and left a dozen more injured.
Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert on Tuesday announced the charges against Smiley Martin, his brother Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton, who has not yet been arrested. All three suspects, who are convicted felons, are also facing additional counts of illegally possessing firearms.
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The men were allegedly among a group of at least five people who opened fire in California’s capital city before dawn on April 3, according to authorities, who believe the violence was sparked by a feud between two rival gangs, the Garden Blocc Crips and G-Mobb, and their allies.
G-Mobb is affiliated with the Bloods street gang.
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Officials said there were over 100 shell casings recovered from the scene.
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Payton and the Martin brothers, who are currently in the Sacramento County Main Jail, are accused of killing bystanders Johntaya Alexander, Yamile Martinez-Andrade and Melinda Davis. Police believe all three women were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, each of them fatally struck as bars and nightclubs emptied out for the night.
The other three people killed in mass shooting were identified as Devazia Turner, Sergio Harris and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi.
Turner was a reported G-Mobb member and Harris was a member of the Del Paso Heights Bloods, an ally of G-Mobb. Hoye-Lucchesi meanwhile, was belonged to the 29th Street Crips, prosecutors said.
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Neither the Smiley brothers nor Payton were charged with the killings of Turner, Harris and Hoye-Lucchesi.
Authorities said Turner was one of the shooters and was seen firing multiple rounds at the Martins. Ron Norgaard, chief deputy district attorney, noted it can be “very difficult to charge” someone in a victim’s death if the victim was a participant in the crime.
If convicted, all three men could face the death penalty.
With News Wire Services
Source: nydailynews
