Anthony Burton pleaded not guilty to six felonies at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse on Thursday morning.
Burton, 44, is charged with the attempted murder of his girlfriend and her male friend. At his arraignment, he was read charges consisting of two attempted murders, corporal injury to a domestic partner, assault with a semiautomatic weapon, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle and possessing a firearm as a felon.
Court documents allege that on March 16, Burton shot his girlfriend in the head and her male friend in the face and body five times while they were sitting in a parked car in South Berkeley near Tremont Street and Prince Street. Both the male and female victims survived.
A Berkeley Police Department crime alert stated that, as a result of their injuries, both victims will likely suffer longterm disabilities or medical complications.
Anthony Burton previously served time in prison for assault with a deadly weapon, for which he was convicted in 1992. Following his first conviction, a second conviction for violent felony would count as a second strike and double the minimum length of his prison sentence, rendering him ineligible for probation.
Burton was arrested April 19 when he was found by a Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy while sleeping in a car linked to the Berkeley shooting incident.
Burton’s pretrial is scheduled for June 24 at 9 a.m. in the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse. He is currently being held in Santa Rita jail without bail.