UPDATE: It was clear to us from the beginning that this shooting was a fight between two rival gangs. The media is finally catching up on this point, from the Associated Press: “Police believe at least five shooters were involved in the mass shooting in downtown Sacramento last weekend and that it was gang-related violence.”
Original: Smiley Allen Martin, 27, the second man arrested in Sunday’s mass shooting in Sacramento that left six dead and ten injured, has a long criminal record. In 2018, he was sentenced to a ten-year prison term for domestic violence and assault with great bodily injury. He was released in February 2022.
The 2018 conviction resulted from violence against his girlfriend.
“He located her hiding in her bedroom closet and hit her repeatedly with a closed fist on the face, head, and body, causing visible injuries,” the letter says. “He then dragged her out of the home by her hair to an awaiting car. After he put her in the car, he assaulted her with a belt. “During the investigation, information was gathered that the victim had been working as a prostitute and that Inmate Martin had been assisting and encouraging her to be a prostitute. Text messages and social media conversations revealed that he would tell her what kind of sex buyer she should date, how much money to charge, how to accept payment, and what forms of payment she should accept.”
Sam Stanton, “Exclusive: Suspect in Sacramento mass shooting was out of prison despite 10-year term,” The Sacramento Bee, April 5, 2022.
The Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert predicted that Martin’s early release would lead to more violence.
“Prior to reaching a CDCR facility, Martin had already received 508 days of pre-sentencing credits, and received a variety of additional post-sentencing credits,” she wrote in an email. “He was released to Sacramento County probation in February 2022.”
[Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert and 44 other DAs sued to have the “early release” of 76,000 inmates statewide.]
“As shown by Inmate Martin’s pattern of conduct, he is an assaultive and non-compliant individual and has absolutely no regard for his victims who are left in the wake of numerous serious offenses,” Schubert’s office wrote last April. “He has no respect for others, for law enforcement or for the law. “If he is released early, he will continue to break the law.”
Sam Stanton, “Exclusive: Suspect in Sacramento mass shooting was out of prison despite 10-year term,” The Sacramento Bee, April 5, 2022.
Here is Biden’s statement about the shooting. Note that he calls for an assault weapon ban (but the guns were handguns, not rifles), action on ghost guns (but none of the guns involved were ghost guns), and universal background checks on the private transfer of guns (but California already has that law).
Today, America once again mourns for another community devastated by gun violence. In a single act in Sacramento, six individuals left dead and at least a dozen more injured. Families forever changed. Survivors left to heal wounds both visible and invisible.
I want to thank the first responders in Sacramento, and all those across the United States, who act every day to save lives. We know these lives were not the only lives impacted by gun violence last night. And we equally mourn for those victims and families who do not make national headlines.
But we must do more than mourn; we must act. That is why my Administration has taken historic executive action to implement my comprehensive gun crime reduction strategy — from standing up gun trafficking strike forces to helping cities across the country expand community violence interventions and hire more police officers for community policing.
We also continue to call on Congress to act. Ban ghost guns. Require background checks for all gun sales. Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Repeal gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability. Pass my budget proposal, which would give cities more of the funding they need to fund the police and fund the crime prevention and intervention strategies that can make our cities safer. These are just a few of the steps Congress urgently needs to take to save lives.
President Joe Biden, April 3, 2022.
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