Homeless man convicted for shooting death of man in Marconi Avenue fight over knife
A Sacramento County jury convicted a man of first-degree murder four years after prosecutors said he shot and killed another homeless man over a knife outside an Arden Arcade liquor store.
Superior Court jurors on Monday also found true that Song Sushumna Landis, 56, who was living along Marconi Avenue, was guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm and personally used a firearm causing death, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Prosecutors and deputies said the shooting happened about 9:15 a.m. Feb. 21, 2022, outside the Marconi Liquor & Food Mart just east of Wright Street in a small shopping center.
Authorities said Joseph Cano had taken a knife Landis wore around his neck and thrown it into nearby bushes before turning his back. At that point, Landis grabbed a gun from his bag, loaded a round into the chamber and ran toward Cano, firing multiple shots, according to prosecutors.
Landis fled on a bicycle and discarded his clothing and the gun in a dumpster.
Cano, 41, was pronounced dead at the scene. In Cano’s obituary, family members said that he spent most of his life working as a carpenter, hunting and fishing.
“Joey loved sports, reading, playing the guitar and Mexican food,” his obituary said. “But he REALLY loved turkey hunting. .... Joey had a big heart, a great smile and will be deeply missed and never forgotten by all of his family and friends.”
A week after the shooting, Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies arrested Landis in connection with the slaying.
“Allegations that Landis has a prior strike conviction for aggravated battery with a weapon and aggravating factors will be determined at the sentencing hearing,” the DA’s Office said in a statement.
Landis, who faces a maximum sentence of 75 years to life in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced May 8. He remains in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail.
