Sacramento mass shooter suspect found dead in jail cell: report

By O. Gloria Okorie
Published  June 8, 2024 11:54pm CDT
KTVU FOX 2

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.

Six people were killed in Sacramento in a shooting on April 3, 2022.
Police officers work at the scene of a mass shooting on April 3, 2022, in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA -  APRIL 3: A group of women console each other at the scene of a mass shooting in Sacramento, Calif., on Sunday, April 3, 2022. The family was grieving for a victim that died in the shooting named Sergio Harris, of Sacramento. Six people are dead and 12 others are injured after a shooting broke out early Sunday morning. Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said there were no suspects in custody yet. The shooting happened in the vicinity of the 1000 block of K Street in downtown Sacramento. (Photo by Jose Carlos Fajardo/MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 03: A police officer works at the scene of a mass shooting on April 3, 2022 in Sacramento, California. Six adults were killed and 12 other people were injured in a mass shooting occurred early morning on Sunday in Sacramento, Xinhua News Agency reported. (Photo by Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 03: People hug each other near the scene of a mass shooting on April 3, 2022 in Sacramento, California. Six adults were killed and 12 other people were injured in a mass shooting occurred early morning on Sunday in Sacramento, Xinhua News Agency reported. (Photo by Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images)

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.

SACRAMENTO MASS SHOOTING:

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.