Lead investigator in deadly downtown Sacramento mass shooting begins court testimony
Sergio Harris showed a wide smile while meandering through the London Nightclub & Lounge. He shook hands with different people as women danced around him.
As the nightclub began to close, Harris left the establishment still in a jovial mood. But his demeanor changed to serious as a man wearing a puffy jacket leaned in to confide in him — just before the worst mass shooting in Sacramento’s history unfolded.
Both of them, along with defendant Mtula Payton, in the early hours of April 3, 2022, walked toward the “loom squad” — a rival gang, Sacramento Police Department Detective Shaun McGovern testified in Sacramento Superior Court.
Prosecutors during Friday’s preliminary hearing called upon McGovern to piece together the chaotic moments surrounding the mass shooting at the corner of 10th and K streets, in front of the now-closed Sharif Jewelers. The shooting left Harris and five others dead; 12 more were injured.
McGovern reviewed hundreds to thousands of hours of video footage from eateries, nightclubs and hotels around 10th and K streets to document the path defendants Dandrae Martin, 29, and Payton, 30, took on April 2022.
Martin’s brother, Smiley Martin, was also charged in the shooting that police said broke out when two rival gang members opened fire at each other. But Smiley Martin, 29, died in the downtown Sacramento County Main Jail in early June. Prosecutors formally dropped the charges against Smiley Martin last week.
Payton and others weaved through a group containing the Martin brothers and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi. At one point another man named Oshe White, with Payton, confronted the brothers, McGovern testified. This prompted a woman to interject, the detective said.
Hoye-Lucchesi was killed in the shooting that happened in a crowd of around 100 to 200 bystanders. Prosecutors have not charged the defendants with the deaths of Hoye-Lucchessi, 32, Harris, 38, and Devazia Tuner, 29, because they say all three were involved in the gunfight.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office charged Martin and Payton each with three counts of murder for the shooting deaths of innocent bystanders Yamile Martinez, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57.
Just a few minutes after the confrontation, gunfire broke out between the group containing the Martin brothers and another group containing Payton and Harris. The crowd scattered.
McGovern has not testified about who fired a weapon first. But he said muzzle flashes rang out from Harris, Payton and Dandrae Martin’s guns in the surveillance footage as they exchanged gunfire.
Payton in the video surveillance footage walked backward while pointing a gun, ultimately running away, McGovern testified. Ultimately, crime scene investigators found about 18 shell casings where Payton was standing, he said.
Group posted videos on social media hours before
The night of April 2, 2022, began with the Martin brothers, Brittany Denrow, Hoye-Lucchesi, Stanley Jackson and several others filming themselves in the 2500 block of Traction Avenue in Old North Sacramento and posting the videos on social media, McGovern testified. The Martin brothers and Hoye-Lucchesi pointed weapons at the cameras, McGovern testified.
But the videos, depicting a fun night, ended just a few hours afterward. Denrow panicked as she and the rest of the group hurried away from the shooting.
Hoye-Lucchesi had been struck at the corner of 10th and K streets, where he was ultimately found dead by first responders, McGovern testified. Hoye-Lucchesi lay on the ground as Denrow and Jackson took “objects” from him, he said.
Smiley Martin, as he rushed away from the scene, threw a Glock-style handgun into an alley that was later recovered by police, McGovern said. It was modified to be an automatic handgun with an extended magazine, McGovern said.
But Smiley Martin had been injured in the shooting and had to stop rushing away with Dandrae Martin to rest on the back steps of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, McGovern said.
The brothers began moving again, but Martin fell. A body-worn camera footage from a Sacramento police officer showed Smiley Martin prone and injured, according to video played in court.
A woman began crying as Smiley Martin’s body flashed on screen. She rushed out of court, her sobs reverberating through the courtroom and court hallways.
Testimony is scheduled to continue Sept. 11.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 1:23 PM.
