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

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.

Defense attorney Linda Parisi argued in court this was no gang shooting but an act of self-defense by defendants Martin and Payton. 

"I am really impressed with this jury," Parisi said. "This is a difficult case. It's got a lot of emotion to it. It happens right in our community, right downtown where we care about what's happening. And they were very committed to going through the evidence and diligently working and then ultimately had the courage of their convictions."

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.

Families of the victims sounded off against the decision, saying they're grieving all over again. 

The sister of murder victim Jontae Alexander described her pain outside the Sacramento courthouse.

"I had my best friend ripped from me," Johntezha Alexander said. "I had my heart ripped out of my chest, and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Those defendants get to walk away today with something I don't get to walk away with, and that is hope. Hope that they will see the sun again. Hope that they will breathe air again. Hope that they will be free. Their families get that hope. I don't have that hope. My hope is six feet in the ground."

Johntezha Alexander described the emotional toll of the trial, with her father standing by her side, echoing the painful reaction to the loss of his daughter. 

"Anyone that sat in that courtroom can see that we deserve justice," John Alexander said. "And what I mean by justice is, as a family, as individuals, as human beings, we have the right to go downtown and enjoy ourselves."

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