Police have arrested three suspects in the investigation of this week’s mass shooting in Sacramento that left six dead and a dozen more wounded, officials said Tuesday.
Detectives “identified a man who was seen carrying a gun in the immediate aftermath of the shooting” before they later “recovered a handgun and arrested” Daviyonne Dawson, 31, Sacramento police said.
He was taken into custody late Monday and booked on suspicion of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
“At this time, Dawson is not charged with crimes directly related to the shootings,” according to a police statement on Tuesday afternoon.
“Based on the type of firearm recovered, detectives do not believe that this gun was used in the shooting. Detectives are continuing to investigate this crime and identify additional suspects. “
Police on Tuesday morning also arrested Smiley Martin, 27, who had been wounded during in the mayhem of early Sunday morning.
He’s the brother of Dandrae Martin, the first suspect taken into custody, authorities in California’s capital city said, and remains under guard at the hospital.
Smiley Martin had been “located at the scene with serious injuries from gunfire” and taken to the hospital where he was “quickly identified as a person of interest,” according to a Sacramento police statement.
Once Smiley Martin is well enough to leave the hospital, he’ll be booked into jail on suspicion of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun, police said.
Prosecutors last year fought to keep Smiley Martin in prison, calling him a danger to the community, Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Danielle Abildgaard wrote in a letter obtained Tuesday by NBC News.
“Inmate Martin has committed several felony violations and clearly has little regard for human life and the law,” Abildgaard wrote in an April 29, 2021 statement to the parole board.
The prosecutor pleaded with the board, saying that “Martin should not be released as he poses a significant, unreasonable risk of safety to the community.”
He was released in the summer of 2021 after spending three years in prison and nowhere close to a 10-year sentence for domestic violence.
The first suspect and Smiley Martin’s sibling, 26-year-old Dandrae Martin, was arrested early Monday morning and booked on assault and illegal firearm possession charges, police said.
The mass shooting occurred in a bustling downtown, near 10th and K Streets, area shortly after last call early Sunday morning. Investigators believe multiple shooters opened fire in the wake of a large fight that spilled into the streets and covered several city blocks.
None of the suspects have been formally accused of homicide but police said detectives are still actively working the case and interviewing witnesses.
“As these processes occur, different and/or additional charges may apply,” police said. “The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office will be reviewing all evidence to determine appropriate charges.”
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg thanked police for their fast work, saying in a statement early Tuesday that investigators moved to “so methodically and quickly to apprehend suspects in this horrific shooting.”
It wasn’t immediately clear if the suspects had hired or been assigned defense lawyers by Tuesday morning.
Dandrae Martin was being held without bail in the Sacramento County Main Jail, according to sheriff’s records. He’s scheduled to be in court on Tuesday afternoon, records showed.
The Sacramento County coroner on Monday identified the three men and three women killed as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and DeVazia Turner, 29.
This is a developing story, please refresh here for updates.