How Did Lul Jody Die: Drive-By, Investigation, and Convictions

Sacramento rapper Lul Jody, whose real name was Joseph Michael Almanza, died from gunshot wounds sustained in a drive-by shooting at a south Sacramento house party on June 6, 2020. He was 19. Two men were convicted of his murder nearly three years later and face up to 92 years to life in prison.¹

The Drive-By at the Meadowview Party

Just after 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2020, Sacramento police received reports of shots fired in the 2900 block of Gardendale Road, near Luther Burbank High School in the Meadowview neighborhood.² The gathering was a birthday party for a rival gang member, and several people with gang affiliations were there.¹

A vehicle pulled up and its occupants opened fire. Partygoers fired back. Five firearms were discharged in all, leaving 45 shell casings on the ground.¹ Police described the aftermath as chaotic. Officers found three victims at the scene; two others had already been taken to a hospital by bystanders or had gotten there on their own.²

Almanza was pronounced dead at the hospital.³ Four other people were struck: three men and a 16-year-old boy. All four survived, with injuries that were not life-threatening.⁴

Who Lul Jody Was

Known to family as “Jojo” and to listeners as Lul Jody, Almanza attended Inderkum High School and was building a rap career in Sacramento’s local hip-hop scene. His music video “In The Trenches” premiered as an exclusive on the hip-hop platform Thizzler in September 2019, followed by “Freestyle” in January 2020.⁵

The day after the shooting, family and friends held a candlelight vigil at 29th Street and Gardendale Road. His mother, Angela Almanza, told reporters, “He was my son. That was my baby they took,” and said she was anguished that bystanders had driven other victims to the hospital while her son was left at the scene. His grandmother, Blanca Martinez, said, “Yesterday, for the first night, I was waiting for him to knock on my door and say, ‘Grandma, I’m home and I’m going to bed.’ But no Joseph. No nothing.”³

How Investigators Identified the Shooters

The Sacramento Police Department’s investigation ran roughly a year and a half. Detectives used surveillance footage that captured a vehicle near the Gardendale Road location before the shooting and then fleeing afterward with a bullet hole in its rear window. The car was traced to a woman in Antioch who told investigators she had loaned it to Anthony Smith.¹

DNA evidence linked Julian Brown to shell casings recovered at the scene. Six weeks after the murder, a firearm was recovered from an associate described as an ally gang member, and ballistic testing connected that gun to one of the five sets of shell casings found at the party.¹

On December 9, 2021, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office charged Julian Jason Brown, then 22, and Anthony Smith, then 26, with one count of murder and four counts of firing a gun from a vehicle. Brown was booked into the Sacramento County Jail on December 21, 2021, and Smith two days later. Both were held without bail.⁶

Convictions and Sentencing

A jury convicted both men of first-degree murder and six counts of discharging a firearm from a vehicle. Judge Delbert Oros then found true the gang enhancement allegations and enhancements for use of a firearm causing great bodily injury against both defendants. The convictions were announced on May 4, 2023, and sentencing was set for May 26, 2023. Each defendant faced a maximum of 92 years to life in prison.¹

1
Sacramento County District Attorney. Defendants Convicted for Murder in Drive-By Shooting
2
The Sacramento Bee. One Dead, Four Injured in South Sacramento House Party Shooting
3
FOX40. Sacramento Family Mourns Death of 19-Year-Old Man Killed in Shooting
4
Sacramento Police Department. Homicide Investigation – 2900 Block of Gardendale Road
5
Thizzler. Lul Jody – In The Trenches Exclusive Music Video
6
The Sacramento Bee. Two Charged in 2020 South Sacramento House Party Shooting That Killed 19-Year-Old