Deliberations to determine the fate of two people accused of Sacramento’s deadliest shooting will be delayed for nearly two weeks.Previous coverage in the video player aboveAccording to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, deliberations have been put on hold and will resume July 14 “due to a juror’s schedule.”Mtula Payton and Dandrae Martin face murder and weapons charges in connection with the April 3, 2022, shootout along downtown’s K Street corridor that left six people dead and 12 more injured.When jurors resume deliberation, they will have to decide if the defendants fired their weapons out of self-defense or willfully and with premeditation.Prosecutors argue the two were part of a rival gang confrontation that involved scouting the area, taking weapons with them to what is considered “neutral” gang territory and refusing to leave even after admitting they felt unsafe minutes before gunfire broke out.Defense attorneys claim that they only fired their weapons because one of the slain gunmen, Sergio Harris, instigated the confrontation. They’ve also criticized prosecutors’ line of questioning and the way they presented evidence and testimony.A third person was also arrested after the shooting— Dandrae’s brother, Smiley Martin—but he died in 2024 while in custody.See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google
Deliberations to determine the fate of two people accused of Sacramento’s deadliest shooting will be delayed for nearly two weeks.
Previous coverage in the video player above
According to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, deliberations have been put on hold and will resume July 14 “due to a juror’s schedule.”
Mtula Payton and Dandrae Martin face murder and weapons charges in connection with the April 3, 2022, shootout along downtown’s K Street corridor that left six people dead and 12 more injured.
When jurors resume deliberation, they will have to decide if the defendants fired their weapons out of self-defense or willfully and with premeditation.
Prosecutors argue the two were part of a rival gang confrontation that involved scouting the area, taking weapons with them to what is considered “neutral” gang territory and refusing to leave even after admitting they felt unsafe minutes before gunfire broke out.
Defense attorneys claim that they only fired their weapons because one of the slain gunmen, Sergio Harris, instigated the confrontation. They’ve also criticized prosecutors’ line of questioning and the way they presented evidence and testimony.
A third person was also arrested after the shooting— Dandrae’s brother, Smiley Martin—but he died in 2024 while in custody.
See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google