{"id":372715,"date":"2026-06-24T07:21:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T07:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/372715\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T07:21:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T07:21:24","slug":"closing-arguments-in-k-street-mass-shooting-trial-near-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/372715\/","title":{"rendered":"Closing arguments in K Street mass shooting trial near end"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sacramento<\/p>\n

Sacramento prosecutor Megan Eixenberger points to K Street mass shooting defendant Dandrae Martin as she makes her closing arguments in Sacramento Superior Court on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

HECTOR AMEZCUA<\/p>\n

hamezcua@sacbee.com<\/p>\n

Mtula Payton and Dandrae Martin turned a downtown Sacramento street corner bustling with nightlife into a battleground in a gang shootout fueled by rivalry and retribution, a Sacramento County prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey engaged in a gang-motivated standoff; a gang-motivated shooting and a gang-motivated murder,\u201d Sacramento County deputy district attorney Megan Eixenberger told jurors in her closing statement as the K Street mass shooting trial neared its end Tuesday in a Sacramento Superior Court courtroom packed with families, attorneys and onlookers.<\/p>\n

When the shooting stopped just after 2 a.m. on April 3, 2022, six people were dead and another 13 were wounded in the worst mass shooting in Sacramento\u2019s history<\/a>. Three of the dead \u2014 Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchessi, 32; and Davazia Turner, 29 \u2014 were involved in the shootout.<\/p>\n

The other three victims were bystanders: Yamile Martinez, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57, who were killed in the hail of bullets after being unable to escape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey brought their gang rivalry to a public square,\u201d Eixenberger said. \u201cThey transformed a public space into a battlefield.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mtula Mtula Payton listens to prosecutor Megan Eixenberger as she gives her closing argument in the K Street mass shooting trial in Sacramento Superior Court on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Payton and Martin each face three counts of murder in the deaths of Martinez, Alexander and Davis, along with weapons charges and special-circumstance allegations of multiple murders. Martin\u2019s brother, Smiley Martin, who was wounded and later arrested after the shooting, died in 2024 in the Sacramento County Main Jail while awaiting trial.<\/p>\n

Both Payton and Martin took the stand in the final days of trial. Payton freely acknowledged his gang ties and said he carried a gun that night, but testified that he and Martin, who also was armed, fired their weapons in self-defense.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody was running in the same direction as me. People were getting shot around me. I was scared,\u201d Payton testified last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Payton attorney Reed Kingsbury argued earlier in the trial that Payton\u2019s rounds, fired behind him as he ran toward 10th and J streets, were not responsible for the women\u2019s deaths.<\/a><\/p>\n

No matter, said Eixenberger.<\/p>\n

The dead and wounded, or the hundreds of panicked clubgoers left scrambling for safety at 10th Street and K Street as the clock struck 2 a.m., did not matter.<\/p>\n

Instead, Eixenberger said, \u201cwhat mattered was settling a score.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sacramento Sacramento prosecutor Megan Eixenberger makes her closing arguments in the K Street mass shooting trial as defendants Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton watch in Sacramento Superior Court on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Martinez had driven from Fresno to watch a concert at Golden 1 Center and experience Sacramento\u2019s nightlife. Alexander was heading home after a night out when she was fatally shot. Her sister lay on top of her to try to shield her from danger, Eixenberger said. Davis, who was unhoused, lived on the streets and ultimately died there.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe took a bullet to the chest where she lays her head at night,\u201d Eixenberger told jurors. Davis was found dead near 10th and J streets.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors Eixenberger and Brad Ng, through testimony from a veteran Sacramento police gang expert, the detective who led the investigation, frame-by-frame surveillance video from the K Street entertainment district, and witness interviews, sought to show the intertwined street gang rivalries that they said brought Harris, Hoye-Lucchessi, Turner, the Martins and Payton to 10th and K streets.<\/p>\n

Defense attorneys Kingsbury and Martin\u2019s attorney, Linda Parisi, argued that the men reacted to a spontaneous burst of gunfire when they opened fire.<\/p>\n

\"Dandrae Dandrae Martin, a defendant in the K Street mass shooting trial, listens to prosecutor Megan Eixenberger as she gives her closing arguments in Sacramento Superior Court on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Eixenberger dismissed the defense theory, citing former Sacramento police gang expert and current Lincoln police Capt. Zach Eaton.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of these men are gang members. What was important was respect,\u201d Eaton testified earlier at trial, explaining the intricate web of gangs, alliances and offshoots that make up Sacramento\u2019s street underworld.<\/p>\n

Payton and Martin could have escaped without shooting into the crowded street corner, the prosecutor argued. They did not.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf no one had a gang element, there is no conflict. If there were no guns, there would be no shootout, there would be no murder,\u201d Eixenberger said. \u201cIf that wasn\u2019t gang-related, Payton walks away. Martin walks away. But, this is about respect. They can\u2019t walk away from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors are scheduled to resume closing arguments Wednesday before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Darrell Smith<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sacramento prosecutor Megan Eixenberger points to K Street mass shooting defendant Dandrae Martin as she makes her closing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-372715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}