Overview
- Prosecutors opened the case Tuesday with photos and video, and they began calling witnesses Wednesday at the new Tani Cantil-Sakauye Courthouse.
- State attorneys say Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton joined a planned gun battle with rivals at K and 10th streets that left bystanders in the crossfire.
- Defense lawyers counter that the encounter was not gang-related, calling it a spontaneous clash and asserting the men fired in self-defense.
- Six people were killed and 12 injured, with three women — Johntaya Alexander, Melinda Davis, and Yamile Martinez-Andrade — identified as bystanders, while the three other deceased are treated as participants under California law.
- The trial is expected to run about 10 weeks after delays tied to Smiley Martin’s 2024 in-custody death from methadone toxicity, extensive video and social-media evidence, and Judge Michael Bowman’s denials of motions to cut charges and move the venue.