By admin 
Jurors began deliberations Monday afternoon in the murder trial of Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton, the surviving defendants in Sacramento’s deadliest-ever mass shooting, in Sacramento Superior Court.
Read more Evacuations ordered, I-5 lanes closed for grass fire burning in Dunnigan, Yolo Co.
Jurors heard days of argument at the end of the more than two-month-long case to determine whether Martin and Payton should be convicted of murder in the shooting deaths of Yamile Martinez, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57, during the April 3, 2022, massacre on K Street in downtown Sacramento.
The seven-woman, five-man jury can also consider voluntary manslaughter charges in the women’s killings and will weigh weapons charges connected to the deadly shootings.
Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton had no choice but to claim self-defense in the deadly K Street mass shootings, a Sacramento prosecutor argued earlier Monday.
“They were firing weapons they weren’t allowed to possess; weapons they carried for protection. Protection from who? Gang rivals and gang conflict,” Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Brad Ng told jurors Monday as Martin and Payton’s murder trial concluded in Sacramento Superior Court.
Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchessi, 32; and Davazia Turner, 29, who authorities believe were involved in the exchange of gunfire, were killed.
Read more 83-year-old missing hiker found safe near Lake Tahoe just as temperatures dipped
Thirteen others were wounded in what became the city’s deadliest mass shooting.
Defense attorneys Reid Kingsbury and Linda Parisi argued that self-defense and survival motivated the men’s decision to shoot in response to what they said was a spontaneous burst of gunfire triggered by Harris.
Defense attorneys accused Harris of firing the first shot that killed Payton’s friend, Davanta Turner, and ignited the firefight.
Prosecutors Ng and Deputy DA Megan Eixenberger dismissed the claims, arguing Payton, Martin and the others involved in the shooting shared gang histories and bad blood that spilled over onto K and 10th streets at closing time.
Those rivalries, bravado and score-settling led to the carnage, Ng argued Monday.
“They’re not motivated by fear; they’re motivated by animus,” Ng told jurors. “They escalated the terror on K Street and now, they’re looking for an excuse. They escalated at every opportunity. These are gang members who were arming themselves. These two men are guilty of murder.”
Read more Napa vineyard estate — former site of iconic Two Buck Chuck brand — finds buyer