A 53-year-old man with a previous conviction was found guilty Tuesday of fatally stabbing a resident of a sober living facility in an unincorporated area between Anaheim and Stanton over a dispute about a pickup truck.
Effrum Maland Burnett was convicted of second-degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife. He was convicted of killing 50-year-old Toye Mims Jones on July 18, 2023.
Jurors, who began deliberating Monday, advised Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson Tuesday that one juror was refusing to deliberate, so that juror was removed and an alternate sworn in. That panel reached a verdict 30 minutes later at the end of the court day.
Burnett faces at least 16 years to life in prison. He has a prior strike from 1993, so it will be up to Hanson to decide whether or not to apply it, which could double the punishment.
“I respect the work the jury did, but I disagree with the result,” Burnett’s attorney, Lee Stonum, said.
The victim was residing at a sober living house at 9581 Canton Ave., near Katella Avenue and Gilbert Street, when Bryon Martinez, Christina Roberts and Burnett went to retrieve a Ram pickup that Roberts claimed was stolen from her by Jones, Senior Deputy District Attorney Dave Porter said.
Roberts also falsely claimed Jones and his roommate had kidnapped, drugged and raped her at the sober living facility and she was sent away without the truck, Porter said.
Burnett parked his 2009 Hyundai Elantra in front of the pickup to jump start it when Jones came out and confronted Roberts, Porter said.
A fight broke out, with Jones then going back into the house, but a few minutes later he came back out and the fight resumed, leading to the victim being stabbed, the prosecutor said.
The victim, who sustained five stab wounds, was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Porter argued that for Burnett to claim self-defense he would have had to make an effort to stop the fight and show the victim the weapon, but, “He did none of that.”
Porter also referred to a “cooling off period” that occurred when Jones retreated back into his residence and returned, which would also circumvent any argument for a “sudden quarrel” that could bolster a case for a lesser-degree of murder or manslaughter.
“The problem is where is the provocation,” Porter said. “There is just no evidence of provocation.”
Burnett could have left the scene at any time but chose not to, Porter said, adding that if he had, “none of this would have happened.”
“The only person armed with a knife was the defendant,” Porter said.
The prosecutor asked for a conviction for first-degree murder.
Stonum of the Alternate Defender’s Office said Jones’ death was a “tragedy.”
“It was a senseless death over nothing — over a truck and a bunch of lies,” Stonum said.
The defense attorney said Jones was “falsely accused” by Roberts, so his anger was understandable. But when Jones attacked Burnett, it “gave Mr. Burnett the right to stop him,” Stonum said.
Burnett “believed Mr. Jones was capable of raping and drugging a woman and stealing her truck,” Stonum said.
“Mr. Burnett is not there looking for a fight,” Stonum said. “He’s there to recover a truck.”
After Burnett stabbed Jones the defendant didn’t pursue him, Stonum said.
The autopsy report showed Jones had methamphetamine at three times the normal level of a fatality, as well as PCP, in his system, Stonum said. So jurors can suspect the victim was “high on methamphetamine and PCP” at the time of the fight, the attorney argued.
PCP can boost aggressiveness, strength and “resistance to pain,” Stonum said.
Stonum argued that when Jones came back out of the house he “sucker punched” Burnett.
The defendant was thinking, “I want to stop this guy from attacking me,” Stonum said. “He didn’t want to hurt Mr. Jones any more than he had to to stop the attack.”
Stonum argued that Burnett was only obligated to make efforts to stop the fight or show a weapon as a warning if he had started the battle or they were in mutual combat, which he said wasn’t the case in this conflict.
Sheriff’s deputies said earlier that Burnett is a third-striker with a “violent criminal history.”
Burnett “admitted to being an alcoholic who uses methamphetamine and relies on psychiatric medication, which he is consistent on taking,” sheriff’s investigator J. White wrote in court papers.
“Burnett also said that when he does not take his medication and when he uses methamphetamine and alcohol, he `flashes in and out’ and does irrational things,” White said.