6th April, 2022
Two brothers Smiley Martin and Dandrae Martin, have been arrested in connection with a Sacramento shooting that killed six people and injured a dozen more.
Smiley, who was wounded in the mass shooting, was released from prison weeks earlier.
He was rejected for earlier release after prosecutors argued he “clearly has little regard for human life,” documents show.
The 27 year-old Martin was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun.
Hours before Sunday’s attack, Martin had posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
His brother, Dandrae Martin, 26, was arrested Monday as a “related suspect” on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun.
He was not seriously wounded and made a brief appearance on the gun possession charge Tuesday in Sacramento Superior Court wearing orange jail scrubs.
Investigators believe both brothers had stolen guns and are trying to determine how they got them, the law enforcement official told the AP.
Police were trying to determine if a stolen handgun found at the crime scene was used in the massacre.
Martin and his brother were among those wounded when gunfire erupted near the state Capitol at about 2 a.m. Sunday as bars were closing and patrons filled the streets.
More than 100 shots were unleashed in rapid-fire succession as hundreds of people scrambled to find safety. Authorities were trying to determine if a street fight outside a nightclub may have sparked the shooting.
The Sacramento County coroner identified the women killed as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21. The three men killed were Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and De’vazia Turner, 29.
Martin remained hospitalised and will be booked on the charges when his condition improves enough for him to be jailed, a police statement said.
Smiley Martin has a criminal history dating back to 2013.
He was released from state prison in February on probation after serving two years of a 10-year sentence for punching a girlfriend, dragging her from her home by her hair and whipping her with a belt, prosecutors said.