A violent “third striker” with felony convictions has been found guilty of fatally stabbing a man after two of his previous convictions were thrown out by a California judge who allowed him to participate in a collaborative justice program despite objections of the prosecutors.
A jury convicted Effrum Maland Burnett, 53, of Yorba Linda, of second-degree murder with special enhancement for the 2023 slaying of Toye Mim Jones outside a sober living home in Anaheim, the Prosecutor's Office said Thursday. of Orange County District.
Burnett, along with Christina Roberts and another man, drove to the sober living house to retrieve a 2009 Dodge Ram pickup truck that Roberts said was his, Fox Los Angeles reported. During a physical confrontation, Burnett stabbed Jones five times.
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Convicted murderer Effrum Burnett should not have been on the streets because of previous convictions, but a judge dismissed his previous accusations, the prosecutor said. (Orange County Jail)
Jones died at the scene.
Burnett has two prior convictions for kidnapping and robbery convictions in Los Angeles County. In April 2018, an Orange County judge granted Burnett's request to dismiss her previous strikes to allow her to participate in the Court's Whatever It Takes program, which would only be possible if the court overturned her previous strikes.
At the time, the program was not intended to serve those who had already suffered serious strikes, citing a risk to public safety. The judge granted the request and Burnett's residential burglary and burglary cases were dismissed in December 2020 after he completed the program.
A sign posted by the Orange County District Attorney's office that reads, “Crime doesn't pay in Orange County. If you steal, we prosecute” is part of a new public safety campaign. (Orange County District Attorney's Office)
“We advised the Court that this individual's serious and violent criminal history posed too great a risk to public safety, and that he should not have been allowed to participate in a program in which his past criminal behavior excluded him from eligibility,” Orange County said. District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
State lawmakers and courts have allowed dangerous criminals into such programs, Spitzer said.
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“Judges must balance potential benefits with the protection of public safety, and there are cases where the facts and criminal history simply cannot be ignored,” he added. “This is one of those cases and a man paid the price with his life.”
Burnett faces life in prison when he is sentenced on July 19.
