Police and lawyer: Suspect in mass murder in Sacramento dies in prison cell

A suspect being held in a California prison on charges related to a 2022 mass shooting in the state capital died in his cell Saturday, according to police and his attorney.

The 29-year-old male inmate died in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail around 2:15 a.m., the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted on social media.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that public defender Norman Dawson identified the man as Smiley Martin, his client who was awaiting trial on three felony charges related to an April 3, 2022, shooting in Sacramento that left six people dead and 12 others injured, including two of the alleged shooters.

Jail officials conducted a cell check and found an unconscious inmate. Officers and then firefighters attempted to save the inmate’s life, but the inmate was pronounced dead, the sheriff’s office said.

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will determine the cause of death and release the man’s name after his next of kin are notified, according to the Sheriff’s Office, which will investigate the case.

At the time of his death, Martin was “fighting to defend his innocence in the preliminary hearing process,” Dawson said in a written statement.

More than 100 shots were fired in rapid succession in a downtown entertainment district near the Capitol during the shooting around 2 a.m.

Two groups of men with gang ties began shooting as bars and clubs began to empty out at closing time, sending hundreds of people desperately trying to get to safety. Police said at least five shooters were involved.

Martin, who was 27 at the time, was arrested in hospital with gunshot wounds. He was charged with murder, illegal possession of weapons and possession and transport of a machine gun.

Authorities also arrested his brother, Dandrae Martin, then 26, as a “related suspect” on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a loaded weapon as a convicted convict. He suffered minor injuries.

A police official said Dandrae Martin posted a live video of himself with a gun hours before the shooting.

A third man, Mtula Payton, has also been charged in connection with the shooting.