An early lunch break was called Wednesday during the Sacramento K Street shooting trial after emotional moments led a witness on the testimony stand to break into tears.The woman testifying, whose initials are BD, resumed testifying after she was first called to the stand last week. She is testifying under the condition of immunity and has admitted under oath that she had spent time with two of the slain gunmen and one of the surviving defendants in the hours leading up to the April 3, 2022, shooting that left six dead and 12 injured. What attorneys are trying to prove now is the motive behind what led to a gunbattle between different groups. Prosecutors want to prove that a gang-related confrontation resulted in three gunmen and three innocent women dying. The defense wants to prove that friends were simply hanging out until a tense conversation spiraled into several people exchanging gunfire.Standing trial are Mtula Payton and Dandrae Martin, the remaining defendants. Dandrae’s brother, Smiley, was also arrested, but he died of methadone toxicity while in custody in 2024.K Street trial updates on May 20Find live updates below as they occurA tense back-and-forth Testimony grew tense between BD and prosecutors on Wednesday as BD repeatedly insisted she could not remember many moments from the night of the shooting.Prosecutors kept showing surveillance video from different angles, where BD would confirm most times that it was her in the footage. But when asked about other people with her, she would either say she didn’t know who they were or that she did not remember.BD also kept complaining about the blurriness of the videos and the prosecution’s line of questioning, also explaining that her memory of the night was foggy because she had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.The defense repeatedly objected, citing false narrative and editorializing, a point that BD had also suggested when she said she felt like the prosecution was forcing her to remember parts of the night.Where things grew increasingly tense in the courtroom was body-worn camera footage from an officer, where BD was seen speaking to about 16 minutes after the shooting. BD was hysterical and screaming in the video.”This did not just happen. He was a good man. That’s my brother,” BD said in reference to Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, one of the slain men BD said was a close friend of hers. After the video was done playing, BD could be heard on the witness stand sniffling and breaking into tears.”Just because you showed me this video doesn’t mean I remember,” BD said, stating repeatedly that she wanted to leave and go home before the judge called for an early lunch break. What happened previously on May 14Last week’s testimony ended with a since-retired forensic analyst who found gunshot residue on the hands of the Martin brothers and Joshua-Hoye-Lucchesi, one of the three slain gunmen. She explained that gunshot residue could mean that they might have fired a gun, been in close contact with someone who fired a gun or touched an item that had gunshot residue on it.The last person to take the stand last week was a woman whose initials are BD. She testified on the condition of being given immunity. She confirmed she was hanging out with the Martin brothers and Hoye-Lucchesi the night of the shooting.BD admitted she was already intoxicated during a “pre-party” gathering, as well as acknowledging that she saw the Martin brothers and Hoye-Lucchesi holding guns at some point during the night.The six killed in the K Street shootingThe three victims are 21-year-old Johntaya “JoJo” Alexander, 57-year-old Melinda Davis, and 21-year-old Yamile Martinez-Andrade.The other three people who died were 29-year-old DeVazia Turner, 38-year-old Sergio Harris and 32-year-old Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi. They are not considered victims because of a California law that does not consider them one if they participate in a shooting that injures or kills someone.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
An early lunch break was called Wednesday during the Sacramento K Street shooting trial after emotional moments led a witness on the testimony stand to break into tears.
The woman testifying, whose initials are BD, resumed testifying after she was first called to the stand last week. She is testifying under the condition of immunity and has admitted under oath that she had spent time with two of the slain gunmen and one of the surviving defendants in the hours leading up to the April 3, 2022, shooting that left six dead and 12 injured.
What attorneys are trying to prove now is the motive behind what led to a gunbattle between different groups. Prosecutors want to prove that a gang-related confrontation resulted in three gunmen and three innocent women dying. The defense wants to prove that friends were simply hanging out until a tense conversation spiraled into several people exchanging gunfire.
Standing trial are Mtula Payton and Dandrae Martin, the remaining defendants. Dandrae’s brother, Smiley, was also arrested, but he died of methadone toxicity while in custody in 2024.
K Street trial updates on May 20
Find live updates below as they occur
A tense back-and-forth
Testimony grew tense between BD and prosecutors on Wednesday as BD repeatedly insisted she could not remember many moments from the night of the shooting.
Prosecutors kept showing surveillance video from different angles, where BD would confirm most times that it was her in the footage. But when asked about other people with her, she would either say she didn’t know who they were or that she did not remember.
BD also kept complaining about the blurriness of the videos and the prosecution’s line of questioning, also explaining that her memory of the night was foggy because she had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
The defense repeatedly objected, citing false narrative and editorializing, a point that BD had also suggested when she said she felt like the prosecution was forcing her to remember parts of the night.
Where things grew increasingly tense in the courtroom was body-worn camera footage from an officer, where BD was seen speaking to about 16 minutes after the shooting. BD was hysterical and screaming in the video.
“This did not just happen. He was a good man. That’s my brother,” BD said in reference to Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, one of the slain men BD said was a close friend of hers.
After the video was done playing, BD could be heard on the witness stand sniffling and breaking into tears.
“Just because you showed me this video doesn’t mean I remember,” BD said, stating repeatedly that she wanted to leave and go home before the judge called for an early lunch break.
What happened previously on May 14
Last week’s testimony ended with a since-retired forensic analyst who found gunshot residue on the hands of the Martin brothers and Joshua-Hoye-Lucchesi, one of the three slain gunmen. She explained that gunshot residue could mean that they might have fired a gun, been in close contact with someone who fired a gun or touched an item that had gunshot residue on it.
The last person to take the stand last week was a woman whose initials are BD. She testified on the condition of being given immunity. She confirmed she was hanging out with the Martin brothers and Hoye-Lucchesi the night of the shooting.
BD admitted she was already intoxicated during a “pre-party” gathering, as well as acknowledging that she saw the Martin brothers and Hoye-Lucchesi holding guns at some point during the night.
The six killed in the K Street shooting
The three victims are 21-year-old Johntaya “JoJo” Alexander, 57-year-old Melinda Davis, and 21-year-old Yamile Martinez-Andrade.
The other three people who died were 29-year-old DeVazia Turner, 38-year-old Sergio Harris and 32-year-old Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi. They are not considered victims because of a California law that does not consider them one if they participate in a shooting that injures or kills someone.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google