Sacramento police make second arrest after mass shooting that left 6 dead
Police in Sacramento say a second suspect has been arrested in connection with the weekend mass shooting that killed six people and wounded 12. A police statement Tuesday says 27-year-old Smiley Martin was seriously injured in the gunfire early Sunday and remains hospitalized, but will be booked into jail once he is fit for incarceration.
He faces charges of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun.
Martin had posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun hours before gunfire erupted, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
Authorities are trying to determine whether the weapon seen in the video was used in the shooting, said the official, who was briefed on the investigation but was not authorized to publicly discuss details and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Police say Martin is the brother of the first suspect, 26-year-old Dandrae Martin. Neither has been accused of homicide, but both have had run-ins with law enforcement in the past.
Smiley Martin had previously been sentenced to 10 years in prison for multiple felony convictions, CBS Sacramento reported, but was released on parole in February, according to the AP. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office argued against Smiley's release, saying in a letter to the parole board that he had "little regard for human life and the law."
"He has no respect for others, for law enforcement or for the law. If he is released early, he will continue to break the law," Deputy District Attorney Danielle Abilgaard wrote in April 2021, according to CBS Sacramento.
Dandrae Martin is facing charges of assault and illegal possession of a firearm.
Court records in California and Arizona shed more light on Dandrae Martin's criminal history, CBS Sacramento reported.
In 2014, he pleaded guilty to domestic violence in Riverside County, California, and served 30 days in jail and community service. In Arizona in 2016, he was charged with felony aggravated assault and domestic violence and sentenced to two-and-a-half years.
In 2018, he was charged again with domestic violence, misdemeanor criminal damage and a felony marijuana violation. In 2019, he was found guilty of violating his probation.
Police say they're working with lots of evidence — more than 100 cell phone videos and pictures and surveillance video. At least 100 shell casings were found from various weapons.
The arrests came as the three women and three men killed were identified. The shooting occurred at about 2 a.m. Sunday as bars were closing and patrons filled the streets near the state Capitol. The fallen included a father of four, a young woman who wanted to be a social worker, a man described as the life of the party, and a woman who lived on the streets nearby and was looking for housing.
The Sacramento County coroner identified the women killed as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21. The three men were Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and De'vazia Turner, 29.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg read their names during a vigil Monday evening attended by grieving relatives, friends and community members.
"So we gather here to remember the victims and to commit ourselves to doing all we can to ending the stain of violence, not only in our community but throughout the state, throughout the country, and throughout the world," Steinberg said.