Sacramento, California (AP) – Three alleged gang members were charged with murder Tuesday in the murder of three women who were fatally shot in a shootout that rocked the California capital a month ago.
Prosecutors say the mass shooting, which eventually killed six people and erupted before dawn on April 3 in downtown Sacramento, was the result of enmity between two rival gangs, Garden Blocc Crips and G-Mobb, and their allies. G-Mobb is affiliated with the Bloods street gang.
Authorities say at least five people opened fire. Six people were killed in the bloodshed, including three alleged gang members involved in the shooting. A dozen others were injured – two of whom are also alleged gang members and are now charged with violence.
In court documents filed Tuesday, police described minute-by-minute and frame-by-frame footage from multiple surveillance cameras a chaotic shootout of men gleaming with weapons in their belts and passers-by running undercover as the suspects stood up. facing each other in front of a jewelry store in downtown Sacramento. The cars quickly pulled away from the intersection, a vendor abandoned a food cart, and the suspects faced each other before the shooting began.
An unidentified woman standing between the two groups was pulled out by an armed man and then by another after returning to her seat in the middle. One of the wounded victims – a member of Del Paso Heights Bloods, an ally of G-Mobb – said that a member of the 29th Street Crips confronted him: “Dude said:” What are you staring at? Is there any problem?'”
District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced on Tuesday that Smiley Martin, Dandrae Martin and Mtula Peyton have been charged with murder in the murder, as well as gun crimes. All three qualify for the death penalty, but that decision has not yet been made.
Investigators did not provide reasons, but said in court documents that Smiley Martin and his companions recorded online video hours before the shooting, flashing weapons and talking garbage from a place on the territory of the rival gang. In it, they announced their plans to head to the city center with the intention of opening fire.
The Martin brothers are injured and remain in prison. Court documents say Dandre Martin is a member of the Garden Blocc Crips, while Smiley Martin is linked to the 29th Street Crips, which is part of his brother’s gang. The brothers’ lawyers did not respond immediately to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Peyton is a fugitive and a suspected member of G-Mobb. The trail of its spent shell casings measures 257 feet (78.33 meters).
The defendants were charged Tuesday in the murders of Jontaia Alexander, Yamile Martinez-Andrade and Melinda Davis, three women prosecutors say were innocent passersby during the shooting, which took place as patrons of bars and nightclubs on the streets. in downtown Sacramento.
The three men killed in the bloodshed were Devasia Turner, Sergio Harris and Joshua Hoye-Lucchezi.
Turner was a member of G-Mobb, and Harris was a member of Del Paso Heights Bloods, an ally of G-Mobb. Hoye-Lucchezi was a member of the 29th Street Crips, prosecutors said.
The district attorney’s office on Tuesday did not file charges against Peyton and the Martin brothers for the deaths of Turner, Harris and Hoye-Lucchezi. Authorities said Turner was one of the shooters and was seen firing several bullets at Martins.
Police believe a gun fell from Hoye-Lucezi’s wounded body when the brothers tried to drag him to safety, but court documents do not say whether he fired the gun. Harris was found with the remains of a firearm in his hands.
Ron Norgaard, the deputy district attorney general, said it was “very difficult to blame” someone for the victim’s death if the victim was involved in the crime.
Veteran defender Mark Reichel, who was not involved in the case, said he did not consider prosecuting the three suspects in the deaths of the three male victims a tactical decision by prosecutors.
“The charge of murder for shooting an alleged gang member who is actively shooting at you at the same time leads to a claim for self-defense. But it will be difficult to defend self-defense against outsiders, “Reichel said. “That makes it a lot cleaner.”
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Dacio reported from Los Angeles.
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