SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A man who was sentenced to 196 years to life in prison for his role in a series of San Diego drive-by slayings, but was released last year due to changes to state law regarding juvenile defendants, was ordered Monday to stand trial for allegedly robbing and stabbing a stranger in El Cajon.
Dejon Satterwhite, 32, is accused of stabbing a man in the back on March 11, about six months after he was released from state prison.
Satterwhite was previously convicted of two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder for a trio of gang-related shootings that he and three co-defendants committed in 2004, when Satterwhite was a teenager.
Satterwhite was tried and convicted in adult court, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, which said changes to state law allowed him to be released last October despite being handed a life sentence.
According to the DA's Office, those changes included the passage of Proposition 57, which requires transfer hearings for juvenile defendants 14 or older to determine if their case should be transferred to adult court, and SB 1391, which bars defendants under 16 from being tried as adults or receiving transfer hearings.
Since Satterwhite was 15 at the time of the murders, his convictions were converted into juvenile convictions.
In the El Cajon case, prosecutors allege Satterwhite asked the victim for money and offered to share drugs with him. When the victim produced a wad of cash from his sock, Satterwhite allegedly snatched the roll and ran, and the victim gave chase.
When the caught up with Satterwhite, the defendant allegedly stabbed him, causing the victim to suffer a punctured left lung.
Satterwhite is now charged with robbery and allegations of causing great bodily injury and using a deadly weapon. He remains in custody without bail and faces up to nine years in prison if convicted of all charges.
