Sacramento mass shooting suspect dies in jail cell, police and attorney say
A suspect held in a California jail on charges related to a 2022 mass shooting in the state’s capital died in his cell on Saturday, police and his attorney said.
The 29-year-old male inmate died around 2:15 a.m. while in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media.
The The San Francisco Chronicle reports this public defender Norman Dawson identified the man as Smiley Martin, his client who was awaiting trial on three felony charges stemming from a April 3, 2022, recordings in Sacramento that six people killed and injured 12 others, including two of the alleged gunmen.
Prison officers conducted a cell check and found an unconscious inmate. The officers and then fire personnel attempted life-saving procedures, but he was pronounced dead, the sheriff’s office said.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will determine the cause of death and release the man’s name after notifying his next of kin, according to the sheriff’s office, which said it will investigate.
Martin “was fighting to defend his innocence during the preliminary hearing” at the time of his death, Dawson said in a written statement.
During the shooting around 2 a.m., more than 100 shots were fired in quick succession in a downtown entertainment area near the Capitol building.
Two groups of men linked to gangs began shooting as bars and clubs emptied at closing time, leaving hundreds of people desperate to escape to safety. Police said at least five shooters were involved.
Martin, who was 27 at the time, was arrested while in the hospital with gunshot wounds. He was charged with murder for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possessing and transporting a machine gun.
Authorities also arrested his brother, Dandrae Martin, 26 years old at the time, as a “related suspect” on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict with a loaded gun. He suffered minor injuries.
Dandra Martin posted a live video of himself with a gun hours before the shooting, a law enforcement official said.
A third man, Mtula Paytonwas also charged in connection with the shooting.