A state appeals court panel Tuesday ordered a judge to vacate an order granting mental health diversion for a man charged with racially motivated attacks in Santa Monica in 2023.

The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal concluded in its 18-page ruling that “no substantial evidence supports the court’s implied finding” that Job Uriah Taylor was suitable for diversion, finding that the court’s grant of diversion was “thus an abuse of discretion.”

In a statement released Tuesday night hours after the appellate court panel’s decision, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman called the appellate court panel’s ruling “a victory for public safety and for the victims whose lives were forever changed by this defendant’s violent and hate-driven actions.”

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