After a day of mostly law enforcement recalling the chaotic night of Sacramento’s deadliest shooting, testimony is expected to continue Wednesday for the K Street murder trial.Mtula Payton and Dandrae Martin are the remaining defendants accused of the shootout that left six dead and 12 injured. They both face murder and weapons charges.Jurors are weighing their guilt as prosecutors argue the shooting stemmed from a gang-related confrontation. Meanwhile, defense attorneys are trying to prove the shooting was unplanned and unprovoked, as people were simply trying to have a good time hanging out with friends until a tense conversation spiraled into violence.Tuesday’s proceedings saw testimony from officers and detectives who responded on the night of April 3, 2022. Recollections and body-worn cameras captured the chaos of people running in all directions, loud yelling and several people being downed by gunfire.Toward the end of the Tuesday session, a civilian witness whose initials are RR is expected to continue his testimony on Wednesday. Like many other civilian witnesses called to the stand, RR is reluctantly testifying under a subpoena.Trial updates on May 13Find live updates below as they occurHighlights from May 12Patrol officer feared for her safetyOfficer Kate Haden was the first person called to the witness stand.Prosecutors played parts of her body camera footage from the night of her shooting. It showed her going past the police tape, with multiple people on the ground receiving medical treatment. The final shooting victim shown in the video clip was slain gunman DeVazia Turner, whom officials declared deceased at 2:33 a.m.Haden recalled anywhere from 200 to 300 civilians still at the scene, not listening to police commands to stay back. She said that to handle the crowd, about 30-40 officers worked on crowd control.Officer Haden said the hostile crowd made her fear for her safety.Discovering one of the bystanders killedAdrian Silva, also an officer with the police department, said he was working a graveyard shift at the main jail when he was called to respond to the shooting.When he arrived, he encountered a woman near the Rodney’s Liquor store, who had been shot. He treated her before continuing to survey the scene.His body camera footage was also played, showing the moment he came across a woman lying on her back on the ground. Silva examined her and found blood on her hands. He tried giving medical aid, but she had died at the scene. That woman was Melinda Davis, one of the three slain women who had nothing to do with the gun battle.Coming across the Martin brothersSergeant Ashley Schiele spoke about her running toward the cathedral near 11th and K streets when she and another officer spotted a person down on the ground.When they got to the person, they noticed the man on the ground, later identified as Smiley Martin, had been wounded. Standing next to Smiley was another man. Prosecutors asked Schiele if the man in the body camera footage was in the courtroom. She said yes and pointed to Dandrae Martin.Officer Amber Hickey also came into contact with Dandrae Martin, with her encounter being at a hospital, where he was going to receive treatment for a gunshot wound to his arm.Hickey said that while Dandrae’s composure was calm and collected, he was not very forthcoming with giving her any information. When asked if she knew Dandrae was a suspect at the time of her interaction with him, she said she did not know.Because Hickey wanted to test Dandrae for gunshot residue, she testified that she had requested Dandrae not to wash his hands. However, he declined her request and did so anyway.The six killed in the K Street shootingThe three victims are 21-year-old Johntaya “JoJo” Alexander, 57-year-old Melinda Davis, and 21-year-old Yamile Martinez-Andrade.The other three people who died were 29-year-old DeVazia Turner, 38-year-old Sergio Harris and 32-year-old Joshua Hoye-Luchessi. They are not considered victims because of a California law that does not consider one, so if they participate in a shooting that injures or kills someone.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
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
After a day of mostly law enforcement recalling the chaotic night of Sacramento’s deadliest shooting, testimony is expected to continue Wednesday for the K Street murder trial.
Mtula Payton and Dandrae Martin are the remaining defendants accused of the shootout that left six dead and 12 injured. They both face murder and weapons charges.
Jurors are weighing their guilt as prosecutors argue the shooting stemmed from a gang-related confrontation. Meanwhile, defense attorneys are trying to prove the shooting was unplanned and unprovoked, as people were simply trying to have a good time hanging out with friends until a tense conversation spiraled into violence.
Tuesday’s proceedings saw testimony from officers and detectives who responded on the night of April 3, 2022. Recollections and body-worn cameras captured the chaos of people running in all directions, loud yelling and several people downed by gunfire.
Toward the end of the Tuesday session, a civilian witness whose initials are RR is expected to continue his testimony Wednesday. Like many other civilian witnesses called to the stand, RR is reluctantly testifying under a subpoena.
Trial updates on May 13
Find live updates below as they occur
Highlights from May 12Patrol officer feared for her safety
Officer Kate Haden was the first called to the witness stand.
Prosecutors played parts of her body camera footage from the night of her shooting. It showed her going past the police tape, with multiple people on the ground receiving medical treatment. The final shooting victim shown in the video clip was slain gunman DeVazia Turner, whom officials declared deceased at 2:33 a.m.
Haden recalled anywhere from 200 to 300 civilians still at the scene, not listening to police commands to stay back. She said that to handle the crowd, about 30-40 officers worked on crowd control.
Officer Haden said the hostile crowd made her fear for her safety.
Discovering one of the bystanders killed
Adrian Silva, also an officer with the police department, said he was working a graveyard shift at the main jail when he was called to respond to the shooting.
When he arrived, he encountered a woman near the Rodney’s Liquor store, who had been shot. He treated her before continuing to survey the scene.
His body camera footage was also played, showing the moment he came across a woman lying on her back on the ground. Silva examined her and found blood on her hands. He tried giving medical aid, but she had died at the scene. That woman was Melinda Davis, one of the three slain women who had nothing to do with the gunbattle.
Coming across the Martin brothers
Sergeant Ashley Schiele spoke about her running toward the cathedral near 11th and K streets when she and another officer spotted a person down on the ground.
When they got to the person, they noticed the man on the ground, later identified as Smiley Martin, had been wounded. Standing next to Smiley was another man. Prosecutors asked Schiele if the man in the body camera footage was in the courtroom. She said yes and pointed to Dandrae Martin.
Officer Amber Hickey also came into contact with Dandrae Martin, with her encounter being at a hospital, where he was going to receive treatment for a gunshot wound to his arm.
Hickey said that while Dandrae’s composure was calm and collected, he was not very forthcoming with giving her any information. When asked if she knew Dandrae was a suspect at the time of her interaction with him, she said she did not know.
Because Hickey wanted to test Dandrae for gunshot residue, she testified that she had requested Dandrae not to wash his hands. However, he declined her request and did so anyway.
The six killed in the K Street shooting
The three victims are 21-year-old Johntaya “JoJo” Alexander, 57-year-old Melinda Davis and 21-year-old Yamile Martinez-Andrade.
The other three people who died were 29-year-old DeVazia Turner, 38-year-old Sergio Harris and 32-year-old Joshua Hoye-Luchessi. They are not considered victims because of a California law that does not consider one so if they participate in a shooting that injures or kills someone.
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