Shooting Suspect Has Died in Jail, Officials Say

(LibertyInsider.org) – Guards discovered a 29-year-old man unresponsive in the Sacramento County Jail around 2:15 a.m. Saturday, June 8. Despite efforts to save him, Smiley Martin died at the facility.

Police arrested Martin in the hospital where he had gone after receiving serious injuries in an April 3, 2022, shootout on K Street in Sacramento. Authorities charged him with possession of a machine gun and suspicion of a prohibited person possessing a firearm. Prosecutors later added murder charges.

California officials say a suspect who was being held on charges connected to a 2022 mass shooting in the state capital has died in his cell. https://t.co/sNyTHnyQVG

— ABC News (@ABC) June 9, 2024

Investigators believed as many as five shooters exchanged fire as popular bars let out in the early morning hours in a possible gang-related conflict. Crime scene technicians gathered more than 100 spent shells. Shots caught people leaving nightclubs in the crossfire, leaving six dead. Authorities claimed three of the victims, all men, had also taken part in the shootings.

Twelve people received gunshot wounds, including Martin and his brother, Deandre, 28, who police also arrested and charged in connection with the shooting spree. Authorities later captured and charged another suspect in the incident, Mtula Payton.

Authorities had video surveillance footage from earlier in the evening showing the three suspects brandishing weapons and using gang signs associated with the Garden Blocc Crips. Sergio Harris, one of the male shooting victims, was reportedly associated with the Del Paso Heights Bloods. Another male victim, De’vazia Turner, allegedly maintained membership in G-Mobb, a Bloods ally. The video showed the third male victim, Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, waving guns with Martin. All three had gunshot residue on their hands, according to police.

A judge remanded the three suspects into the custody of the Sacramento County Jail to await trial without bail. They pleaded not guilty during a preliminary hearing in April.

As guards conducted a nightly cell check, they found Smiley Martin unresponsive and rendered life-saving measures while awaiting emergency medical technicians (EMTs), who continued efforts to resuscitate Martin without success. The Sheriff’s office opened an investigation into the death but must await a cause-of-death determination from the Coroner.