A man accused of carrying out a series of racially motivated attacks in Santa Monica, including an attempted murder, will face trial after the California Supreme Court declined to review a ruling overturning a judge’s decision to grant him mental health diversion, officials announced Thursday.
The decision leaves in place a published ruling from California’s Second District Court of Appeal that found a Los Angeles County judge abused her discretion by granting pretrial mental health diversion to Job Uriah Taylor, 28, who prosecutors say attacked three people with a metal pipe during a violent rampage in March 2023.
If convicted as charged, Taylor could face a sentence of life in state prison.
“This decision is a meaningful win for public safety in California,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, Taylor was arrested on March 3, 2023, after allegedly carrying out three unprovoked assaults with a deadly weapon within about an hour in Santa Monica.
The final attack occurred near the 5th Street Expo Station, where Taylor allegedly beat a man living in a nearby encampment with a metal pipe. Prosecutors said two victims were hospitalized.
One victim, 64-year-old Christian Hornburg, survived but suffered severe, life-altering injuries.
Taylor was charged with one count of attempted murder, three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury.
The charges also include multiple hate-crime enhancements. Prosecutors said Taylor was heard shouting racial slurs during the attacks and later told authorities he had been sent to Santa Monica to target Black residents.
A man was arrested Friday after allegedly attacking two victims in a hate crime-fueled attack in Santa Monica. (Santa Monica Police)
On March 12, 2025, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lana Kim granted Taylor entry into the county’s mental health diversion program rather than allowing the case to proceed to trial.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office appealed the ruling, arguing Taylor posed an unreasonable risk to public safety.
In a Sept. 30, 2025, decision, the Court of Appeal agreed, finding Taylor had a history of abandoning treatment, had recently been released from a psychiatric facility before the attacks and presented an ongoing danger to the community, according to prosecutors.
The appellate court concluded there was no evidence Taylor would comply with voluntary treatment if granted diversion.
After granting Taylor’s request for a rehearing in November 2025, the Court of Appeal again ruled in favor of prosecutors on March 5, 2026, finding the trial court abused its discretion in granting pretrial mental health diversion.
The California Supreme Court has now declined to review that ruling, allowing the appellate court’s decision to stand. Because the opinion was published, it remains binding law and may be cited by courts throughout California.
Hochman said the decision gives judges additional guidance when considering mental health diversion in cases involving serious violence.
“Mental health diversion may be appropriate for defendants with mental illnesses who engage in low-level, non-violent crimes,” he said. “However, in situations where a defendant has committed violent acts, particularly those seriously injuring innocent victims, this decision now gives judges the tools they need to deny pretrial diversion for defendants who constitute an unreasonable risk to public safety if released into the community.”
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