Tag: Los Angeles County Superior Court

SANTA MONICA—On Thursday, June 4th, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Theresa R. McGonigle postponed the arraignment of Micah Sykes. Authorities accused Micah Sykes of killing his father, the late opera singer Jubilant Sykes, at his Santa Monica residence in the 1770 block of Delaware Avenue on December 8th, 2025.

According to myNewsLA.com, this occurred despite the objections of the deputy district attorney overseeing the case, and the new arraignment date is August 6, 2026. Skye’s arraignment has not been postponed for the first time. When he appeared in court in December, the court delayed his arraignment until Wednesday, February 11th. They moved the date to April 6th and then again to June 4th.

Micah Sykes is in jail without bail because he has schizophrenia, but was not taking the medication his doctor prescribed when he was arrested.

He has been charged with homicide for the alleged killing of his father.  This also includes allegations that a deadly weapon was used and the inflicted grievous harm on an elderly person.

According to the Santa Monica Police Department, detectives from the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division arrested him on December 8th on suspicion of murder after responding to an ongoing assault at his parents’ residence and finding him inside the house. They also found his injured father. When officers from the Santa Monica Fire Department arrived, they examined the older man who had suffered multiple stab wounds and declared him dead.  Officers recovered a weapon from the house. 

On October 24th, 2024, he was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Pacific Division for grand larceny.  However, he was not charged.  A day later, he was released from jail on his own recognizance.

When he first appeared in court on December 11th, Deputy District Attorney Ceasar Rodriquez stated that the defendant’s mother, Cecilia, was a witness to the attack on Jubilant Sykes.

Jubilant Sykes was 71 when he died. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Sykes was a professional opera and gospel singer with a baritone voice and performed African American spiritual songs. Starting in 1978, he worked in the music ministry of Grace Community Church.

He released 4 albums and worked with many groups, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera. In addition, he performed at the Kennedy Center, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Apollo Theater, and in 1990, he appeared in a production of Porgy and Bess by the Houston Grand Opera. In 2008, he appeared in a production of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass as the main character, Celebrant, and received a Grammy Award nomination for this role.

His wife, Cecilia, and his three sons, including Micah, continue to live after him.

Canyon News reached out to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office for comment and for clarification about the charges that Micah Sykes is facing, but had not heard back by the time of publication.

By Daniel Diquinzio

SANTA MONICA—On March 5, The Second District Court of Appeal issued a ruling directing the Los Angeles County Superior Court to vacate its order granting a pretrial mental health diversion program to Job Uriah Taylor, 27. The opinion, authored by Presiding Justice Frances Rothschild and Justices Bendix and M. Kim, was certified for publication. The Appellate (Court of Appeals) court’s decision was made after the defense failed to answer whether Taylor would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety if he were to be treated in the community, as required under the Penal Code. The record revealed evidence of prior non-compliance by Taylor. According to investigators, a family member indicated that Taylor repeatedly signed himself out of treatment at mental health facilities in Louisiana and did so within 24 hours of admission. According to Dr. Campbell, who worked with Taylor in 2023, records indicated a refusal on Taylor’s part to take his prescribed medication on multiple occasions. Taylor was using methamphetamine in addition to phencyclidine (PCP) or what is referred to as “angel dust,” at the time of the attacks. Reports indicate that on March 3, 2023, Job Uriah Taylor (then 25) traveled to Santa Monica. Taylor admitted that the reason he was in Santa Monica was that he was “sent by his family to target black residents.” Taylor used a pipe to beat a man to death who was sleeping at a nearby homeless encampment. Taylor, who reportedly was also homeless living in the encampment, near the 5th Street Expo Station, and the victim. Taylor beat him so hard that he crushed his skull. Within 24 hours Taylor had killed one man, and at least two others were able to escape. One of the survivors of Taylor’s attacks is now confined to a wheelchair. Reports indicate that the latter of the victims will always require assistance. Reports indicate that the reason it took so long to bring this case to trial is because the defense was attempting to offer Mr. Taylor a mental health program rather than sentencing him for the crimes he committed. According to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Inmate Roster. Taylor was first arrested on October 17, 2023, on felony charges. He was booked into jail at the Inmate Reception Center I.R.C. and housed at the North County Corrections Facility (NORF). The Pitchess Detention Center North reportedly takes medium to maximum security prisoners. Initial reports indicate that Taylor’s sentencing date was set for October 23, 2023. He had another court date listed for August 28, 2024. The most recent court date for Taylor on the inmate report is scheduled for April 23, 2026, at LAX Superior Court. Bail was set for $2,135,000.00   By Sharon