Downtown Sacramento Shooting: What We Know So Far
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Murder charges were filed in Sacramento County for the deaths of three innocent women killed near 10th and K streets in downtown Sacramento in April, in what authorities described as a gang fight between "multiple rivals."
Johntaya Alexander, Melinda Davis, and Yamile Martinez were all caught in the crossfire of rival gang members who brought firearms to the downtown corridor on April 2nd and into the early morning hours of April 3rd.
Three men have been charged for their deaths: brothers Smiley and Dandrae, who are currently in the Sacramento County Jail, and Mtula Payton.
The men, who were charged Tuesday in Sacramento Superior Court, are being held responsible for the deaths. In the words of Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, "All participants in that gun battle are responsible for the death of those innocent bystanders."
The charging document -- more than 40 pages long -- uses surveillance video photos, witness testimony, and evidence to outline a detailed timeline of the events in the area of 10th and K streets, according to investigators.
In those documents, the Martin brothers, Payton, and three men who were killed in the shootout, Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, Sergio Harris, and De'Vazia Turner, were all prohibited from being in possession of firearms or ammunition as a result of other convictions.
The six men were all known gang members, some of them, rivals, according to court documents.
Hours Before the Gang 'Gun Battle'
Four hours before the first shots were fired, Turner and Payton arrived to the area of 10th and K Street. They parked their vehicles in front of Rodney's Cigar and Liquor Store and were joined shortly after by Harris.
A few minutes before midnight, on Saturday, April 2, Turner and Payton scanned in at the District 30 nightclub. They are photographed by the club's security system.
Shortly after, surveillance video captured the first image of Hoye-Lucchesi, and four others, when they arrived downtown.
Hoye-Lucchesi and four others arrive to downtown Sacramento. Source: Sacramento Superior Court
With the same hour, after midnight, the Martin brothers are scanned in at the District 30 night club, the same club Turner and Payton are scanned in 40 minutes before. Based on video, investigators believe the Martin brothers never went inside the club.
By 1:11 a.m., Hoye-Lucceshi and the Martin brothers are recorded on surveillance video standing in the area outside of the District 30 night club and the Dive Bar on K Street.
The six men, including the group of the Martin brothers and Hoye-Lucchesi, are tracked by surveillance video as they moved around each other on K Street.
At 1:32 a.m., according to court documents, Payton and Turner leave District 30 night club and walked toward the group of the Martins and Hoye-Lucchesi. It's the first time the two groups involved in the shooting interacted.
At this point, the groups first interact across the street from the District 30 night club near the Crest Theater.
Then, according to court documents: "At 1:38:27 a.m., the group containing Joshua Hoye, Smiley Martin, and Dandrae Martin appear to stand off in front of Devazia Turner and Mtula Payton. Payton motioned with his right arm and hand in the air and appeared to wave for additional individuals to join him."
Payton and Turner head west on K Street with 3-4 other people, back towards Rodney's Cigar and Liquor towards J Street where they first parked.
Court documents: "Mtula Payton appeared to retrieve an item that he placed in his hooded sweatshirt and immediately walked back in the direction he came from, heading southbound on 10th Street."
On his way back towards the crowd on K Street, Payton is stopped by two individuals. They speak and he pointed towards the intersection of 10th and K streets. This interaction, caught on surveillance video.
Payton breaks away from the individuals and goes toward the intersection. The same two people, then approach Harris and speak to him. Their conversation, filmed by surveillance video.
Harris responded to the conversation "by motioning with his head to follow him as he walked south down the sidewalk toward the intersection of 10th Street and K Street."
10 Minutes Before Shots Fired
A Sacramento Police Department police observation device captures bird's eye images of the intersection of 10th and K streets. Court documents show 70-80 people gathered on the corner in front of Sharif Jewelers 10 minutes before the first shot is fired.
In the middle of the crowd, the six men are tracked by surveillance footage moving in and out amongst themselves and other individuals. They keep their distance, but are recorded within feet of the others near the intersection.
"At approximately 1:54 a.m., the group with Joshua Hoye, Smiley Martin, and Dandrae Martin make their way west on K Street heading toward the intersection of 10th Street and K Street."
Once they got to the northeast corner of the intersection, both groups were recorded standing in the middle of the crowd that began to grow about the northeast corner, court documents say.
Three minutes later, police observation device (POD) surveillance footage showed the crowd split as people ran from the corner. Turner "quickly walked away" ahead of Harris, Payton, and others.
They walked north on K Street.
Group of Individuals Heard Cursing
Along with surveillance video, court documents detail key witness statements that fill in the blanks of what the footage showed investigators.
One witness told detectives he stood along the west wall of Sharif Jewelers, near the corner, just before the shooting.
The statement included, in brief, in court documents: "He stated that he heard a group of individuals cursing at each other at the corner. The witness advised he observed a male black adult, with short dreads, and facial tattoos pull up their white hooded sweatshirt and brandish a black semi-automatic handgun in their waistband."
The witness identified the male he described as Payton.
Seconds later, the crowd started to run across the street to get away from the area. The video showed "cars backed away from the corner before their passengers could get inside, and food vendors left a cart unattended."
At this point, as dozens began to scatter, Hoye, the Martin brothers, and two other individuals are "the only people who remained at the corner of the Sharif Jewelers," according to documents.
In later images, taken within seconds of the moment Payton shows a weapon, the POD surveillance footage changes. Instead of a crowded corner, there are only a few people standing near the intersection of 10th and K streets.
Harris and Payton on one side of Sarif Jewelers and Hoye and the Martin brothers on the other -- the southern wall of the store. They are separated only by the corner of the building and a few feet.
At 1:57 a.m., Hoye is seen next to Smiley Martin. Hoye raises his right arm parallel to the ground, according to court documents, and points north towards Payton and Turner's group.
"It appears that Joshua Hoye is holding a dark object in his hand that could be consistent with a black firearm," court documents read.
Included in the documents, the photo below, the yellow arrow highlights the person investigators said is Hoye.
By 1:58 a.m., Turner and Harris, along with a group, are positioned south of Hoye and the Martin brothers are standing.
In the next 60 seconds, surveillance video captures their movements. The groups shift a few feet in different directions, but remain across from each other in front of the side windows of Sharif Jewelers.
The six men are not alone, but surrounded by half a dozen other individuals. Bystanders are seen in the general area of the two groups in the moments before the first gunshot is heard.
"The only thing I heard was MOB this and MOB that and everybody was scattering"
A witness, who was shot in the gun fight and later interview at the hospital by homicide detectives, gave investigators details of Smiley Martin's moments seconds before the gun battle.
The witness, a self-described gang member, told detectives, "everybody's coming out of District 30 going towards London. Walking down the street. Dude, was like, 'what's you staring at? Is there a problem?'"
He clarified the "dude" he referenced was Smiley Martin and said, "the only thing I heard was mob this and mob that and everybody was scattering."
At 2 a.m., the same witness told detectives he saw Smiley Martin pull out a black handgun and held it against his left leg.
Surveillance video would corroborate that witness statement, as it appears Smiley Martin holding, "what appeared to be a black handgun with an extended magazine in his left hand along his left leg," court documents show.
Female stands in between two groups
A female individual is recorded by surveillance video in-between the two groups. Smiley Martin is filmed pulling her back from the middle.
Seconds later, she returned to the middle of the two groups, and is pulled back by Hoye. He "grabbed the female individual and shoved her back behind him," according to charging documents.
Shortly after, Harris turned toward the witness, who would later identify Smiley Martin to the police, and court documents said video, "appears to show Sergio Harris's right arm extending outward directly in front of Devazia Turner."
Muzzle Flashes Caught On Surveillance Video
"The surveillance footage showed a muzzle flash coming from the area directly in front of Devazia Turner's chest. Devazia Turner's black t-shirt with a square gold graphic can be seen behind the muzzle flash, as people respond to the first shot," court documents described.
Surveillance video from the El Santo captured multiple flashes coming from the area where Devazia Turner and Sergio Harris stood, according to the timeline outlined to the court.
Within seconds of the first shot, based on timing outlined by investigators in court documents, Yamile Martinez is recorded "falling behind Joshua Hoye and Smiley Martin."
More on the timeline of events from documents: "Detectives were able to observe that following the commencement of the gun battle, Devazia Turner could be seen backpedaling, heading northbound on 10th Street, with his arm extended, firing multiple rounds from a firearm at Dandrae Martin and Smiley Martin."
Audio recordings obtained by investigators, alongside surveillance video, show Smiley Martin's firearm was consistent with a full-automatic gun. He would later face charges of being in possession of a machine gun, that Sacramento Police described as a modified handgun.
Images attached to the charging documents, taken from surveillance video and Sacramento police POD, show the area on the corner of 10th and K Streets nearly empty as shooting continued.
People hid behind trashcans or laid flat on the road to avoid being caught in the crossfire and find safety.
All the while, investigators say Smiley Martin continued to shoot in the direction of Harris and Turner. His brother, Dandrae, shot in the same direction and his brother, Smiley, would then run toward Hoye, who at this point, was standing next to the south glass wall.
Dandrae Martin then turned his aim, according to investigators as outlined in court documents, towards Harris, Turner, and Payton. Payton fell and "scrambled" to get up.
Payton would then run away from the corner of 10th and K Streets, headed northbound, but continued to shoot, according to the investigators timeline.
Another video angle taken at the same time Payton is headed in the opposite direction, Dandrae Martin and another individual, "flip Joshua Hoye over and pull him to the south."
Investigators say that, "two dark objects fell from his body. One of the objects appeared to be a handgun."
Payton Seen Running from Scene
In surveillance video images, Mtula Payton is seen running from K Street. towards J Street, where he parked his car hours before the shootout. Court documents say he "appeared to be firing indiscriminately toward the south while running."
Payton left the scene, and Sacramento Chief of Police Kathy Lester told media Tuesday the department is actively working to find him.
He is charged with three counts of murder and an additional charge of being a felon in possession of a 9 mm handgun. He also has prior felony convictions that date back to 2014.
The enhancement on his charges is that the crimes were committed while he was out on bail.
In a separate case, unrelated to the K Street shooting, Payton is charged with three counts of EDD Fraud. All from 2020, in July there's a charge for $18,012 and in August of the same year two charges of $7,200 and $19,884.
An enhancement to these charges is a prior strike conviction: a 2017 charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
Martin Brothers Leave Scene, Smiley Drops Gun
The Martin brothers would eventually be found by Sacramento Police Department officers at the intersection of 11th Street and Jazz Alley. Both were injured in the shootout and received medical attention at the scene.
Their sweatshirts were left at the scene and processed hours later by investigators.
While they secured the scene, SPD officers found a black Glock 19 handgun with a 30-round extended magazine, tactical laser sight, and full-automatic selector switch in an alcove of a building on K Street.
Investigators laid out in court documents how they determined who it belonged to: "The location at 1029 K Street was directly east of the shooting and in the path of travel for Smiley Martin leading towards Cathedral Square, where he was contacted by responding officers."
Security video in the area showed the Martin brothers and two other individuals walk past the alcove where the gun was found. In those videos, Smiley is filmed when he dropped the gun in the space.
Social Media Videos Shows Hours Before Shooting
Sacramento police received more than 200 submissions of information, photographs, or video related to the shooting, and through these tips, found social media videos that show some of the men involved hours before the shooting.
The Martin brothers and Hoye-Lucceshi posted to social media they were together before they headed to downtown Sacramento.
In the videos, some obtained and reviewed by CBS13, the men hold guns to the camera.
In a final summary on the last page of the charging document, submitted by the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, detectives found that the city's worst mass shooting in history was, "the result of a gun battle between Sergio Harris, Devazia Turner, Mtula Payton, Smiley Martin, and Dandrae Martin.