Prosecutors are attempting to secure a third strike sentence against an Atascadero man found guilty of stabbing a 19-year-old transient in downtown San Luis Obispo.
A San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge will consider whether to allow two convictions that occurred when the defendant, Harley Finney, 28, was a juvenile.
According to Deputy District Attorney Dave Pomeroy, Finney—16 at the time of his prior convictions—has two strikes on his record based on two felony convictions stemming from the beating of a San Luis Obispo man in 1999.
But the judge could decide Finney’s prior convictions don’t meet requirements for the three-strikes law, based on the nature of the offenses.
Defense attorney Raymond Allen argued that both prior convictions should be considered a single strike because he said they originated from the same crime.
Finney was convicted Nov. 1 of stabbing Chad Robinson, of Texas, multiple times near the creek in downtown San Luis Obispo.
A third strike would mean a minimum prison term of 25-years-to-life.