Smiley Martin, suspect in mass shooting, died in jail from drug overdose, Sacramento coroner says

Smiley Martin, the man accused of being a triggerman in Sacramento’s worst mass shooting that killed six people, died from a methadone toxicity, the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office said on Wednesday.

Martin was charged along with two others — including his brother Deandrae Martin — in an April 2022 shooting at the corner of 10th and K streets that also injured 12 other people. The brothers, along with Mtula Payton, faced numerous murder and attempted murder charges after prosecutors said the trio were a part of two rivals gangs who unleashed a hail of bullets that cut down dozens of innocent people as people exited area clubs.

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office also classified Martin’s death as an accident. It’s unclear when autopsy results will be released. Sacramento County Coroner Rosa Vega did not answer a question about the timeline.

Martin was found unresponsive June 8 in his cell in downtown’s Sacramento County Main Jail in the East-300 pod during a cell check, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, said on Wednesday an investigation into Martin’s death at the jail was still ongoing.

Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57, were killed in the gunfight between two rival groups. Also killed include Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; DeVazia Turner, 29; and Sergio Harris, 38; who police say were involved in the shooting.

Smiley Allen Martin was freed from prison two months before the deadly gunfight, serving five years of a 10-year sentence before his release. His release, possible because of good behavior and time served in county custody, became an ignition point in the political debate over sentencing and rehabilitation.

A preliminary hearing for Dandrae Martin and his co-defendant Payton is ongoing in Sacramento Superior Court. The hearing returns to court Sept. 11 with the lead detective of the mass shooting to resume his testimony.

Martin’s death was among five inmates who died in the Sheriff’s Office custody in 11 weeks this year.

Last year, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office arrested six people accused of smuggling drugs into jail for money that also prompted Sheriff Jim Cooper to call for an overhaul of the jail’s health care system.

Cooper, through the Sheriff’s Office spokesman, declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Martin’s death.

What is methadone?

Methadone treats opioid addiction and can help manage pain, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The medication, which can be ingested daily, blunts drug withdrawals and other effects of opioids.

In practice, the drug can be safe and effective but doses are specifically tailored for each patient. Patients could unintentionally overdose if methadone is not taken as prescribed, SAMHSA said.