Mass shooting suspect Mtula Payton in Sacramento jail, headed to court on murder charges

Mtula Payton, the suspect arrested in Las Vegas last month in connection with the gang shooting in downtown Sacramento April 3, has been booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on murder and other charges Thursday.

Payton, who turned 28 last month as he was being sought as a fugitive, is one of three suspects facing murder charges in the mass shooting that killed six people and wounded 12. He was booked into the Main Jail late Tuesday after spending more than two weeks in custody in the Clark County, Nevada, jail.

Brothers Dandrae and Smiley Martin also are charged in the case and have been in custody since shortly after the shooting.

Payton is suspected of opening fire at 10th and K streets downtown around 2 a.m. on April 3 as bars were closing downtown and the city streets were filled with people.

Payton has an extensive criminal record and now faces three counts of murder, along with the Martin brothers, in the deaths of Yamile Martinez, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57, who authorities believe were innocent bystanders.

Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert filed special circumstances that the suspects allegedly committed multiple murders, a filing that gives her office the option to seek the death penalty.

No charges were filed in the deaths of three men who were killed in the shootout because authorities say they were involved in the violence. Authorities say at least 114 rounds were fired throughout the streets, where at least 80 people were gathered at the time.

This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 7:15 AM.