Sacramento mass shooter suspect found dead in jail cell: report
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The suspected gunman behind a deadly mass shooting in Sacramento has died while in custody, according to reports.
The inmate who died was identified as Smiley Martin, according to KCRA. The Sacramento Sheriff would not confirm the identity of the inmate but did say a 29-year-old man died while in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail and has been in custody since April 20, 2022.
Smiley Martin, Feb. 6, 2022. Source: CDCR
"The public defender team representing [Martin] is deeply saddened by his unexpected death… It is most tragic that Mr. Martin passed away, fighting to defend his innocence in the preliminary hearing process," said Norman Dawson to KCRA, Martin's public defender.
Martin was charged with murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a machine gun. He was one of the 12 injured in the mass shooting that claimed the lives of six people on April 3, 2022, when a gang feud turned deadly.
His younger brother, then 26-year-old Dandrae Martin, was also charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Dandrae Martin, 26, was arrested as a "related suspect" on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun connected to the Sacramento shooting.
The third shooter, Mtula Payton, was arrested some weeks after the shooting in Las Vegas.
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Martin's death was discovered when a cell check was being conducted in the 5-East 300 Pod. Authorities said they saw an inmate unresponsive, but despite life-saving measures, the man died at the jail.
It was not immediately clear how Martin died.