{"id":407465,"date":"2026-07-22T03:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T03:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/407465\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T03:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T03:17:21","slug":"families-say-justice-system-failed-after-k-street-mistrial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/407465\/","title":{"rendered":"Families say justice system failed after K Street mistrial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Community activists and families of the victims killed in the deadly K Street mass shooting in 2022 said they were failed by the justice system after Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman declared a mistrial Tuesday in the murder trial of Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton, the surviving suspects charged in the shooting.<\/p>\n

After a two-month trial, Bowman instructed jurors to deliberate on second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter charges \u2014 reduced from first-degree murder charges by prosecutors last week. On Tuesday, the 12-member jury returned to court and reported it remained deadlocked. Bowman then declared a mistrial<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Standing outside the Tani Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento Courthouse downtown, bereaved family members held back tears as they criticized the decision and said they were failed by the jury, the judge and the justice system.<\/p>\n

\u201cI literally got a slapped in the face by this system we call justice,\u201d John Alexander, the father of Johntaya Alexander, 21, a victim in the shooting, said. \u201cI leave here discouraged because what if another family wants to go down there to enjoy themselves? Is this what they got to endure? Is this what they got to go through? It\u2019s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Defense Defense attorney Reid Kingsbury and his client Mtula Payton, who is accused of murder in the April 2022 K Street mass shooting, listen to defense attorney Linda Parisi during closing arguments at Sacramento Superior Court on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Sacramento. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

John Alexander explained his daughter was spending a night out with her older sister when Sacramento\u2019s deadliest mass shooting claimed her life and those of five others: Yamile Martinez, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchessi, 32; and Davazia Turner, 29.<\/p>\n

The three women were caught in the crossfire, while the three men allegedly participated in the gunfire.<\/p>\n

According to previous Bee reporting<\/a>, John Alexander received the call that his youngest daughter had been shot and rushed downtown shortly after the shooting about 2 a.m. April 3, 2022.<\/p>\n

But it was too late for Johntaya, whose \u201clifeless body\u201d he saw lying on the ground.<\/p>\n

\"Johntezha Johntezha Alexander, left, stands with her father, John Alexander, outside the Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento Courthouse in Sacramento after a judge declared a mistrial in the K Street mass shooting case on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. Alexander said that justice was denied. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

One of Johntaya\u2019s older sisters, Johntezha Alexander, spoke after her father and said she endured the \u201clong, hard process\u201d of the trial believing there would be accountability for her younger sister\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019all just took what little bit of light I did have left, what little bit of hope I did have left,\u201d Johntezha Alexander said.<\/p>\n

Sacramento City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, whose district includes downtown, midtown and East Sacramento, called the mistrial \u201cdeeply painful\u201d for victims\u2019 families, survivors and the broader community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we respect the judicial process and the work of the jury, the inability to reach a verdict leaves many without the sense of closure they have sought for years,\u201d Pluckebaum said in a statement. He urged the Sacramento County District Attorney\u2019s Office to move forward with transparency and compassion as it decides whether to retry the case.<\/p>\n

The Sacramento County District Attorney\u2019s Office said it would decide \u201cin the near future\u201d whether to retry Martin and Payton.<\/p>\n

\"Dandrae Dandrae Martin, who is accused of murder in the April 2022 K Street mass shooting, and his attorney Linda Parisi listen to closing arguments during his trial at Sacramento Superior Court on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and a mistrial has been declared,\u201d the office said in a statement. \u201cWe will make a decision in the near future as to our next steps, which will include a decision to retry the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berry Accius, a community activist and CEO of Voice of Youth, a Sacramento-based organization, echoed the Alexander family\u2019s sentiments, saying he was \u201cshocked\u201d but not surprised by the mistrial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is definitely going to leave a scar in the city,\u201d Accius said in an interview. \u201cLooking at our justice system, like, who pays for the carnage and the actions of that night? Now it seems like nobody pays, so it\u2019s definitely going to leave a sour taste and in people\u2019s minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Johntezha Johntezha Alexander wears a lanyard bearing images of her sister, Johntaya Alexander, during a news conference outside the Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento Courthouse in Sacramento after a judge declared a mistrial in the K Street mass shooting trial on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Accius said he was working as a gun violence prevention advocate when the shooting occurred and witnessed the community\u2019s response evolve in real time.<\/p>\n

Citing the gang connections and affiliations raised during the case, he said the K Street mass shooting became a \u201cdifferent conversation,\u201d shifting from a call for unity to the sentiment of \u201cthat\u2019s what happens if you\u2019re gang banging\u201d as the investigation and trial progressed.<\/p>\n

He added that little has changed regarding gun violence in Sacramento, which he described as a continuing public health crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s a public health crisis, it has not gotten the same type of funding as an opioid crisis, and the reason why is because it\u2019s black and brown folks majority that are affected by the gun violence,\u201d Accius said. \u201cThese situations still continue to combat our community, and still continue to plague our community, and we continue to see younger and younger kids have guns in their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bee\u2019s Jennah Pendleton contributed to this story.<\/p>\n

\"Pastor Pastor Nakisha Woods of Keys to Victory Ministry prays with Johntezha Alexander outside the Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento Courthouse in Sacramento after a judge declared a mistrial in the K Street mass shooting trial on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n


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

Reeti Malhotra<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Reeti Malhotra is a 2026 summer reporting intern for The Sacramento Bee covering breaking news. She is a junior at Yale University, where she works as a city beat reporter and personal essay staff writer for the Yale Daily News.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Community activists and families of the victims killed in the deadly K Street mass shooting in 2022 said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-407465","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\/407465","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=407465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}