SANTA MONICA—In 2023, Christian Hornburg was at the Santa Monica train station, and was attacked with a metal pipe and called racial slurs by Job Uriah Taylor. Hornburg, who is Black, was injured during the incident.
Taylor was not to expected to go to trial as he had been diverted due to being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, an opiate use disorder, and bipolar disorder, but now faces a criminal trial.
In California, diversion is when a suspect who is mentally ill is sentenced to receive court treatment instead of jail time.
Taylor was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, and hate crime enhancements. He was granted diversion in March of this year by Judge Lana Kim.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney, Nathan Hochman, submitted a petition seeking to have the judges ordered vacated as Job Uriah Taylor attacked two more African-Americans on the day he attacked Hornburg. Taylor’s medical records indicate he engaged in hostile and aggressive action towards the staff on the facility in which he is being treated.
Last month, the California Court of Appeals granted that petition as they believed that nothing proved that Taylor would not be a danger to public safety if he was released.
Taylor will now face trial on the charges for which he was arrested. A pre-trial hearing will occur in December 2025. If he is found guilty, Taylor will face a life sentence in prison.
