A violent "third striker" with a history of felony convictions has been found guilty of fatally stabbing a man.
This comes after two of his previous convictions were dismissed by a California judge, allowing him to participate in a collaborative court program despite objections from prosecutors.
Effrum Maland Burnett, 53, from Yorba Linda, was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder with a special enhancement for the 2023 killing of Toye Mim Jones outside a sober living home in Anaheim, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Burnett, along with Christina Roberts and another man, went to the sober living home to retrieve a 2009 Dodge Ram truck that Roberts claimed belonged to her, Fox Los Angeles reported.
During a physical altercation, Burnett stabbed Jones five times, resulting in Jones' death at the scene.
Burnett's criminal record includes two prior strikes for kidnapping and robbery convictions in Los Angeles County.
In April 2018, an Orange County judge granted Burnett's request to dismiss these prior strikes, enabling him to participate in the Whatever It Takes Court program.
This program is usually unavailable to individuals with serious prior strikes due to the public safety risk.
Despite this, the judge allowed it, and Burnett's felony robbery and residential burglary cases were dismissed in December 2020 after he completed the program.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer expressed his concerns, stating, "We warned the Court that this individual’s serious and violent criminal history posed too great of a risk to public safety, and he should not have been allowed to participate in a program where his past criminal behavior made him ineligible."
Spitzer also criticized state lawmakers and the courts for allowing dangerous criminals into such programs.
"Judges must balance the potential benefits with protecting public safety, and there are cases where the facts and the criminal history simply cannot be ignored,"
Spitzer added. "This is one of those cases, and a man paid the price for it with his life."
Burnett faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced on July 19.
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