Sacramento K Street mass shooting trial ends in mistrial after jury deadlocks, DA says

By Cecilio Padilla

A mistrial was declared Tuesday in the trial of two men accused in Sacramento’s 2022 K Street mass shooting after jurors failed to reach a verdict.

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors will soon decide whether to retry Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton.

“Unfortunately, the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and a mistrial has been declared,” the DA’s office said in a statement. “We will make a decision in the near future as to our next steps, which will include a decision to retry the case.”

The office declined further comment because the case remains pending.

Jurors had previously deadlocked on first-degree murder charges before continuing deliberations on lesser second-degree murder charges. Martin and Payton face multiple murder and weapons counts tied to the shooting, which killed six people and injured 12 others.

Leia Schenk, a Sacramento activist and founder of Empact, held a news conference outside the courthouse with the victims’ families immediately following Tuesday’s decision.

“This has been a long and painful, traumatizing four years. What took place in the early morning of April 3, 2022, to some of you may be described as a horrific act of gun violence, but to these families, it was the worst day of their lives,” she said.

The April 3, 2022, shooting near 10th and K streets was the deadliest mass shooting in Sacramento history.