Man convicted in 2021 Sacramento shooting that killed two, including his 7-year-old niece
A jury convicted a man who accidentally shot and killed his 7-year-old niece during a confrontation with another man who was gunned down in the 2021 shooting in Sacramento’s Upper Land Park neighborhood.
Tyrice Lawurence Martin, 24, on Thursday was found guilty of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday in a news release.
Prosecutors charged Martin with second-degree murder for the shooting death of Clifford Hall, 42, of Sacramento, and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Martin’s niece, Isabel Agnes Delgadillo Martin of Rio Linda.
The little girl was six days shy of her 8th birthday when she was killed. Monica Delgadillo, her mother, has said her family had been homeless for about a year, living in their car and motel rooms. They had planned to stay at a motel that night, but they had stopped to visit family at the housing complex.
The late-night shooting occurred Nov. 16 in the Marina Vista housing complex near the 2600 block of Fifth Street. The girl was with her parents went they went to a relative’s home that night at the housing complex. Hall, who also lived in the complex, was outside that apartment.
Prosecutors said Hall was “intoxicated,” and he “interacted with Isabel and her parents” as they entered the home. Martin was informed about Hall and went outside to confront him.
Martin then fired a gun in Hall’s direction; gunfire inadvertently hit his niece instead, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said Martin fired additional gunshots at Hall, hitting him in the back of the head.
The shooting near Seavey Circle was reported about 10:20 p.m. Authorities arrived at the scene and found both wounded victims. Hall was pronounced dead at the scene, while the girl was taken to a hospital where she later died.
Martin was arrested about 14 hours after the fatal shooting. Sacramento Police SWAT officers searched the apartment he was believed to be staying in when he was captured. Since then, Martin has been in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail.
He is scheduled to return Oct. 20 for his sentencing hearing in Sacramento Superior Court. Prosecutors said Martin faces a maximum sentence of 68 years to life in prison.
Martin had a previous assault with a deadly weapon conviction that’s considered a strike under California’s “three strikes” law. Prosecutors said Martin was free on bail on a weapons charge when the shooting occurred.
He had been released from jail in October 2021 on charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon in Sacramento County, court records show. At the time, a prosecutor objected to Martin’s release, citing community safety and failing to appear in court. Martin won release after telling a judge his wife was terminally ill.
