According to authorities and his lawyer, a suspect who was being imprisoned in a California jail on suspicion of being involved in a mass massacre that occurred in the state capital in 2022 passed away in his cell on Saturday.
Around 2:15 a.m., the 29-year-old male prisoner passed away at the Sacramento County Main Jail while under the custody of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, according to a statement shared on social media.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, public defender Norman Dawson recognized the man as Smiley Martin, his client who was awaiting trial on three felonies related to a shooting that occurred in Sacramento on April 3, 2022, that left six people dead and twelve injured, including two of the alleged shooters.
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While performing a cell check, jail authorities discovered an unconscious prisoner. He was declared dead despite the efforts of the deputies and later the fire department staff to save his life, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office stated it will look into the matter and stated that the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will ascertain the man’s cause of death and disclose his identity upon notification of his nearest of kin.
According to Dawson’s written statement, Martin was “fighting to defend his innocence in the preliminary hearing process” when he passed away.
Around two in the morning, a shooting spree of over a hundred rounds was fired in quick succession in a downtown entertainment district close to the state Capitol building.
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As bars and clubs closed for the night, two groups of gang-affiliated individuals opened fire, sending hundreds of people running for their lives. Authorities say there were at least five gunmen involved.
Martin, who was 27 at the time and had been shot in the hospital, was taken into custody. In addition to being a felon in possession of a handgun, he was also accused of murder and of transporting a machine gun.
In addition, authorities detained his brother Dandrae Martin, who was 26 at the time, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and of being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm. He was slightly hurt.
A law enforcement official stated that hours before the shooting, Dandrae Martin uploaded a live video of himself carrying a gun.
Mtula Payton, a third guy, was also charged in relation to the incident.
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