‘Can’t rule it out’: Sacramento police investigate street gang ties to mass shooting
Detectives on Tuesday were looking into the possibility that street gangs were involved in the mass shooting in downtown Sacramento that killed six people and injured 12 others over the weekend.
“I can’t confirm that gangs have been involved, but we also can’t rule it out.” said Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Zach Eaton told The Sacramento Bee. “That’s a motive question, we’re definitely looking at motive. In a lot of investigations, sometimes motive is one of the aspects of the investigation that takes a little while while to figure out.”
Eaton said detectives are looking “closely” at the possibility gangs were involved in the shooting, but investigators are still working to establish facts in the case that will lead them to identify the motive behind the shooting.
But court documents in Sacramento County describe one suspect arrested in the shooting’s wake — Daviyonne Dawson — as a “validated” gang member, meaning he was known to law enforcement.
The Police Department on Tuesday afternoon announced the third arrest made in connection with the Sacramento mass shooting investigation.
Dawson, 31, who was arrested late Monday, was announced as the third person to be arrested Tuesday, though police said he wasn’t a suspect in the shooting itself.
After the shooting unfolded, police say they arrested Dawson on suspicion of possessing a firearm despite being prohibited from having one.
Dawson on Tuesday did not face any criminal charges “directly related” to Sunday’s melee, police said, and detectives do not believe the gun recovered during his arrest was used in the shooting. But detectives continued their investigation to identify additional suspects.
Dawson has since been released from the Sacramento County Main Jail after posting a $500,000 bail bond. Police said detectives identified Dawson as a man who was spotted carrying a gun in the “immediate aftermath of the shooting.”
Eaton said detectives know of at least two shooters and are looking into the possibility there were more than two shooters that opened fire that night.
The two other men arrested in connection with this shooting investigation were brothers Smiley Martin, 27, and Dandrae Martin, 26, who each face a charge of possessing a gun by a prohibited person. Smiley Martin faces an additional charge of possessing a machine gun. Eaton said detectives were trying to determine what relationship Dawson might have had with anyone at the scene.
Officers found at the shooting scene a stolen handgun that was converted to an automatic weapon, which is considered a machine gun. Eaton said investigators believe Smiley Martin was in possession of that fully automatic gun. He has been placed in police custody as he receives hospital treatment for injuries suffered during the shooting.
The Police Department has not released any further details about the guns believed to have been used in the shooting, so it’s not clear whether the stolen gun found at the scene was fired during the shooting.
“They’re very, very dangerous,” Eaton said about handguns converted to automatic weapons. “They’re configured to shoot a lot of rounds in a very, very short amount of time.”
Only people with special permits issued by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives can possess any fully automatic weapon.
The Police Department has received about 170 videos from the public that might have information crucial to the shooting investigation. Eaton said investigators appreciate the public’s help in sharing those videos through a QR code posted on Sacramento police social media accounts. The department has also posted a QR code for those who would rather submit tips anonymously through Sacramento Crime Stoppers.
“It’s our goal to obviously wrap our heads around this investigation, get all the facts and bring the suspects to justice who committed this tragic crime,” Eaton said.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 5:26 PM.
