Killer Taunts Judge After Sentencing

A convicted murder defendant was determined to get the last word in Friday, just moments after a judge rejected his plea for leniency and sentenced him to death for killing an Anaheim college student during a carjacking, authorities said.

“It ain’t over yet,” Shaun Burney, 20, of Tustin uttered as he was led from the courtroom, adding an expletive on the way.

“I just couldn’t believe he said that,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. David Brent. “This was after he said he was sorry for what he had done and felt so much remorse. To me, that means he’s a guy who was going to say anything, hoping the judge would bite.”

Burney was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnaping and robbery in the death of Joseph Andrew Kondrath, 23, in one of Orange County’s first carjacking cases. Two others were also convicted for their roles in the killing, but the most serious punishment was sought against Burney because he was the convicted triggerman.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald said he carefully reviewed the evidence in the case and refused to overturn a jury’s recommendation to condemn Burney to death for his crimes. Burney’s attorney could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Burney became the 30th defendant from Orange County sentenced to death. The sentence will automatically be appealed.

Allen Dean Burnett, 20, of Anaheim was also convicted of first-degree murder, kidnaping and robbery for his role in the crime and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Scott Rembert, 22, also of Anaheim, was convicted only of kidnaping. Jurors deadlocked on murder and robbery charges. Rembert is expected to be retried on those charges, Brent said.

Kondrath was last seen leaving for his job at a supermarket at 4 a.m. on June 10, 1992. Prosecutors said he was grabbed from behind the wheel at gunpoint in front of his home and forced into the trunk of his own car.

He was robbed of his wallet, which only contained about $1, and later shot in the head.

According to a sentencing report prepared by the Orange County Probation Department, Kondrath begged for mercy, saying, “Don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me,” as the men decided who would pull the trigger.

Burney did, and the following day he went to Magic Mountain amusement park, the sentencing report noted. The men committed the carjacking because they wanted a car to use in a drive-by shooting, according to the report.