Three Alleged Gang Members Charged With Murder In Sacramento Mass Shooting
Sacramento prosecutors filed murder charges on May 3 against three men for killing three bystanders during a gang shootout in April.
“This was a gun battle between two rival gangs. The evidence shows that the rival gang members armed themselves with weapons,” Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert who appeared alongside Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester at a news conference, the Sacramento Bee reports.
They identified the accused gunmen as brothers Smiley Martin and Dandrae Martin and fugitive Mtula Payton. They each face three counts of murder.
There was chaos and confusion after the shooting in the early morning hours on April 3 after nightclubs had just closed in Downtown Sacramento. The police arrived to find six people dead and 12 others injured.
The Martin brothers and Payton are charged with killing three of the six victims: Yamile Martinez, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57. Investigators say they were caught in the exchange of gunfire.
However, the police believe that the three other people killed that night were involved in the gunfight or were armed. They were identified as Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32, DeVazia Turner, 29, and Sergio Harris, 38.
The prosecutor said evidence shows that Hoye-Lucchesi is seen on video “holding a dark object in his hand that could be consistent with a black firearm,” that Turner is seen on video firing a gun and Harris had gunshot residue on his hands.
No charges were filed against the three men who were fatally shot on April 3. However, they bear some culpability. The six men have felony convictions and were gang members barred from possessing firearms.
“All participants in that gun battle are responsible for the death of those innocent bystanders,” CBS Sacramento quoted Schubert.
