Sacramento mass shooting suspect released from prison early weeks before tragedy, has violent past

One of the suspects in the Sacramento mass shooting was released early from prison roughly a month before the tragedy despite being rejected for an even earlier release after prosecutors argued he “clearly has little regard for human life,” documents show.

Smiley Martin was arrested Tuesday in connection to the mass shooting that left six dead and 12 others injured early Sunday morning. His brother, Dandrae Martin, was the first suspect to be arrested in the case.

“Smiley Martin and his brother, we believe, were together during this incident,” said Sgt. Zach Eaton of the Sacramento Police Department said of the shooting, according to KGO.

Smiley Martin has a criminal history dating back to 2013, including his most recent sentencing in 2018 to 10 years in prison for domestic violence and assault with great bodily injury. He was sentenced after he pushed his way into his girlfriend’s home, punched her, dragged her from the residence by her hair and whipped her with a belt.

A Parole Board rejected his bid for early release in May of last year after prosecutors said the 2017 felony assault along with convictions for possessing an assault weapon and thefts posed “a significant, unreasonable risk of safety to the community.”

Martin “clearly has little regard for human life and the law,” and has displayed a pattern of criminal behavior from the time he was 18, a Sacramento County deputy district attorney wrote in a letter last year to the Board of Parole Hearings. – READ MORE