A state appeals court panel Tuesday ordered a judge to vacate an order granting mental health diversion for a man charged with racially motivated attacks in Santa Monica in 2023.
The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal concluded in its 18-page ruling that “no substantial evidence supports the court’s implied finding” that Job Uriah Taylor was suitable for diversion, finding that the court’s grant of diversion was “thus an abuse of discretion.”
In a statement released Tuesday night hours after the appellate court panel’s decision, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman called the appellate court panel’s ruling “a victory for public safety and for the victims whose lives were forever changed by this defendant’s violent and hate-driven actions.”
The District Attorney’s Office had opposed the bid for diversion for the 27-year-old defendant and filed a petition asking the appellate court to vacate Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lana Kim’s order.
The appeals court panel noted in its ruling that the judge made no express finding that Taylor would not pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society if he were granted diversion.
“On the contrary, substantial evidence either indicated or intimated that Taylor would likely abandon any mental health regimen if allowed to do so, with potentially catastrophic consequences,” Presiding Justice Frances Rothschild wrote on behalf of the panel, with Associate Justices Helen Bendix and Michelle Kim concurring in the ruling.
The ruling noted that the defendant’s “history of departing facilities without completing treatment and the temporary effects of his current medication indicate he would pose an unreasonable risk if granted diversion to a voluntary mental health program.”
“Indeed, he was just released from a psychiatric facility when he thereafter failed to take his medications and committed the crimes that are the subject of this appeal,” according to the appellate court panel’s ruling.
Taylor is accused of attacking people “for no reason other than the color of their skin,” including Christian Hornsburg, a Black man who was “ambushed with a metal pipe and then stomped on as he lay helpless on the ground, suffering life-altering injuries,” according to the opinion.
The defendant spoke at a court hearing and apologized to the Black people in the room for his behavior on the day of the alleged crimes, according to the ruling.
Taylor is charged with one count each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with force resulting in great bodily injury, along with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The charges include a hate crime enhancement stemming from Taylor’s alleged use of racial slurs during the attacks, which occurred within a one-hour span on March 3, 2023, including one that left the 64-year-old Hornburg severely injured, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Santa Monica police said Taylor was taken into custody that day.
Taylor allegedly claimed after his arrest that he had been sent to Santa Monica to target Black residents, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The appellate court panel noted that it had temporarily stayed enforcement of the order granting mental health diversion.
Taylor — whose race is listed as white — remains behind bars at Pitchess Detention Center’s North Facility, according to jail records.
Further proceedings are set Dec. 18 for Taylor at the Airport Courthouse.
Taylor could face life in prison if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.