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Sac DA: 3 Suspects Now Facing Murder Charges From K-Street Mass Shooting

The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office and the Sacramento Police Department held a joint press conference Tuesday afternoon to announce developments in the investigation into the K-Street mass shooting that left six dead and twelve more injured. Sacramento County D.A. Anne Marie Schubert announced that murder charges have been filed against three suspects in the shooting. Smiley Martin, Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton all face three charges of murder for the deaths of 21-year-old Johntaya Alexander, 57-year-old Melinda Davis, and 21-year-old Yamile Martinez. In addition to three counts of murder each, the men will face enhanced charges for previous strikes on their records and being convicted felons.

Both Schubert and Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said this shooting was clearly gang related and the deaths were a result of a gun battle between two rival gangs. The other three victims, DeVazia Turner (29), Sergio Harris (38) and Joshua Hoye Luchessi (32) are not included in the murder charges because of a California law that prohibits the D.A. to allege the deceased individuals of any crime. Earlier reports show that the D.A. believes those three victims have ties to the gangs involved in the shooting. Victims Alexander, Davis and Martinez are being considered "innocent bystanders" by the D.A.'s office and are the cause behind the new murder charges for the suspects.

Smiley Martin also faces charges related to using an automatic weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm while having a previous conviction of robbery on his record. Dandrae Martin is facing weapons charges as a felon in possession of a handgun with a prior felony conviction from Arizona. Mtula Payton is the third suspect and still remains at large. Separately, Schubert says Payton faces an additional three charges of fraud from an EDD scam to receive fraudulent pandemic aid. Schubert says all three suspects are eligible for the death penalty but they have not come to an official decision if her office will pursue that punishment. Schubert also said charges for the injured victims may come forward in the future, but no official decision yet. Chief Lester said that over 100 shell casings were found at the scene and the public turned in over 200 tips, videos and photos of the incident.


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