Smiley Martin in court for first time since being wounded in Sacramento mass shooting

Smiley Martin made his first court appearance Friday since being wounded in the April 3 gang shootout during which authorities say he fired 28 rounds from an automatic handgun.

Martin, 27, appeared in Sacramento Superior Court before Commissioner Ken Brody for a two-minute hearing at which he identified himself and listened to the charges he faces. He was ordered to return to court Tuesday.

Martin is being held without bail and showed no outward signs of his wounds as he stood in the prisoner cage inside a courtroom on the first floor of the downtown jail.

Assistant Public Defender Meghan Cunningham was appointed to represent him and said after court that she could not comment on the case.

“We have a lot of reports coming that we have to see before we can say anything,” Cunningham said.

Martin is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a machine gun and is one of three men to face charges stemming from the incident.

His brother, Dandrae Martin, 26, who is also in jail, is charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, as is Daviyon Dawson, 31, who police said was not involved in the shooting but was seen afterward carrying a handgun. Dawson is out of custody on $500,000 bond.

Another man, Mtula Payton, has been described by police as being one of at least five shooters in the incident but has yet to be located.

The shootout began at 2 a.m. at 10th and K streets and left six people dead and 12 wounded, one of the largest shooting incidents in Sacramento history.

Prosecutors have not filed charges against anyone in connection with the deaths or injuries, although court papers say Smiley Martin fired nearly all of the rounds in his extended 30-round magazine toward another group that included gang members.

Court papers say Martin later left the scene with his brother and tossed the Glock 19 handgun near 1029 K St.

Police have been studying 200 videos from the scene that night to understand how the melee began and say more than 100 shell casings have been recovered from the scene.

This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 2:57 PM.