As I noted in my report on the mass shooting incident in downtown Sacramento that claimed six lives, police were still on a manhunt for additional suspects.
Two more men have been arrested. One of them is the brother of the first suspect arrested in the case.
Two brothers suspected of being involved in a mass shooting in California that left six dead were under arrest Tuesday.Detectives probing the apparent gun battle in downtown Sacramento, which erupted as nightclubs were emptying early on Sunday, say both men are suspected of possessing firearms.One of the men, Smiley Martin, was among 12 people treated in hospital after a shootout in which at least 100 rounds were fired, apparently after a brawl.Martin, 27, whose injuries are described as “serious,” is suspected of being in possession of a “machine gun,” police said Tuesday, adding he was being guarded by an officer while his medical care continues.He is the brother of Dandrae Martin, 26, who was arrested Monday on suspicion of weapons offenses.
Smiley Martin has a lengthy criminal history and was released from prison in February just four years into a 10-year sentence for felony gun and robbery convictions.
The decision, made by California’s Department of Corrections, was even made over the strenuous objections of the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, which submitted a letter saying that the man ‘displayed a pattern of criminal behavior’ and posed a ‘significant’ danger to the community….His criminal record includes charges for domestic violence, aggravated assault, criminal damage and marijuana violations.Smiley and Dandrae are believed to be the two who fired the guns. Smiley posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun hours before the shooting. Authorities are trying to determine whether the weapon seen in the video was used in the shooting.
Last May, California officials planned the early release of up to 76,000 inmates, including violent and repeated felons, to further reduce the population of what once was the nation’s most extensive state correctional system. In January of this year, the California Supreme Court rejected such a move for violent felons (even those whose primary offense is considered nonviolent under state law).
In an exclusive, The Sacramento Bee offers the disturbing details behind Smiley Martin’s criminal history and the attempts by the Sacramento District Attorneys to prevent Martin from being released early from his lengthy sentence. The letter from the DA to the parole board clarifies that Martin presented a danger to the community.
“Inmate Martin’s criminal conduct is violent and lengthy,” Deputy District Attorney Danielle Abildgaard wrote in a two-page letter to the Board of Parole Hearings on April 29, 2021, opposing his release.The letter, obtained by The Bee through a California Public Records Act request, details offenses including robbery, possession of a firearm and giving false information to police….The letter to the parole board came as Schubert’s office and 44 other DAs were preparing to sue the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation over policies that they say would result in the “early release” of 76,000 inmates statewide.“As shown by Inmate Martin’s pattern of conduct, he is an assaultive and non-compliant individual and has absolutely no regard for his victims who are left in the wake of numerous serious offenses,” [Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie] Schubert’s office wrote last April. “He has no respect for others, for law enforcement or for the law.“If he is released early, he will continue to break the law.”
California is genuinely reverting to the Wild West.
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