Exclusive: Sacramento police arrested man brandishing gun at city councilman’s house
CORRECTION: This story was updated a Aug. 18, 2022 to correct information related to the arrest of Marlithieo Jashawn Walls. Police arrested him in August 2021 on gun-related charges several days after a party at a house Councilman Sean Loloee owns. An earlier version of this story based on information released by the Police Department said he was arrested at the party.
On a Saturday night a year ago, a man at a party in a house Sacramento City Councilman Sean Loloee owns allegedly brandished a gun in a threatening manner. Someone called the police, and several days later, officers arrested a suspect who had five guns with him.
Loloee told The Sacramento Bee he was at the house that night, although court records related to the arrest do not name him.
Instead, the records show Karla Montoya, the general manager of Loloee’s grocery store chain, was at the house on Nogales Street.
The house is at the center of a city investigation into whether Loloee actually lives in the council district he represents, as he is required to do by law. His wife also owns a home in Granite Bay, and until recently, neighbors of the Sacramento house said they have not seen him in their neighborhood.
Montoya has told The Bee she lives at the Sacramento house with her family, and with Loloee’s permission.
The arrest occurred after one of six calls to the Sacramento Police Department related to Loloee’s property since 2019, according to records obtained by The Sacramento Bee. Loloee has said he has lived at the house for the duration of his council term, with the exception of a four-month period in late 2021.
Two of the police calls stemmed from reports about loud noises or parties, two related to arguments over people buying cars at the house, one was the gun call that prompted an arrest in July 2021, and police determined one 911 call was unfounded.
In an interview with Capital Public Radio, Loloee acknowledged that police were called to the house last year for a house party, but he disputed that any of the other calls were legitimate.
“That’s the only time that a call (to police) has been made since I’ve owned that house,” Loloee told Capital Public Radio.
The Police Department did not release information about the gun arrest to Capital Public Radio. The Bee obtained records related to the arrest in Sacramento County Superior Court.
When Loloee learned The Bee had read court records related to the case, he released a written statement in which he acknowledged police were called to the house in July 2021 and reiterated that he permitted the Montoya family to live there with him. He declined an interview request.
“I was at the house, and the Montoyas called the police to indicate that there was a suspicious individual who brandished a firearm,” Loloee said in a statement through a public relations firm Friday. “This matter was handled by the police. As I’ve made public, I’ve allowed close friends I’ve known for the last 16 years to stay with me due to difficult times. If anyone knows anything about me, is that I’m extraordinarily loyal to my family and friends. “
He told a different story to Capital Public Radio, which was the first to report on the number of police calls to the house he owns. In that interview, he said he was at the house during a party where a guest mistakenly thought he or she saw a gun.
Gun at Sacramento councilman’s house
According to court records, police arrested Marlithieo Jashawn Walls, 30. He was charged with two counts of brandishing a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, and five counts of felon possession of a firearm.
Walls allegedly was in possession of two handguns, two shotguns and a rifle, according to court records.
Walls was prohibited from owning guns because in 2011, at age 19, officers allegedly found a loaded gun and cannabis in his backpack at San Bruno community college. In 2015 he was charged with another gun-related offense in San Mateo County.
After the Montoyas called police regarding Walls brandishing the gun at the party, police arrested him in the 3600 block of Clay Street, about a block from the Nogales house, Police Chief Kathy Lester told The Bee. On Aug. 2, police went to the house to show a photo lineup of suspects, Lester said. Police said Thursday he was arrested Aug. 13.
Walls is now on probation, court records show.
A neighbor said parties take place at the house about once a month, with the most recent one about a week ago. Juan Del Toro, the neighbor, said he notices the street fill up with cars, and hears loud Mexican music during the events.
Loloee last week said he lives there seven days a week. Del Toro does not believe it, although he acknowledged he has seen Loloee at the property since The Bee began writing about the councilman’s residence in June.
“He’s lying,” said Del Toro, who has owned his house for about 20 years. “I think he should be here so he can see how people live.”
911 calls over car sales
Two other 911 calls to the house describe disturbance related to people buying cars at Loloee’s home. When The Bee first went to the house in early June, about a dozen vehicles sat in the front yard and driveway, including a yellow mini excavator. Shortly afterward, the cars were moved off the lawn.
In November 2019 someone called the police at the house after they sold a car to someone, and then got into a fight, the police document said. The car had engine problems an hour after the purchase, and the seller would not refund it.
A similar police call happened a year later regarding a vehicle purchase.
“They always have a lot of cars,” said Del Toro, the neighbor.
Loloee bought the house on Nogales Street in the Hagginwood neighborhood in 2019 shortly before filing paperwork to run for council. In June, he told The Bee has lived in it continuously except for a four-month period in late 2021 when he, his wife and two children moved to a different home in his council district.
Loloee in that interview said he started renting the house out after someone spray painted the house and spoke to his wife in the driveway. The Sacramento Police Department does not have records describing that kind of incident at the house.
This story was originally published August 15, 2022 at 1:14 PM.
