2 men sentenced after ‘violent attack’ on elderly man in SLO County park
Two men were sentenced Monday for elder abuse after punching, kicking and urinating on a man in an Arroyo Grande park in March.
Arroyo Grande resident Boaz Winslow Brigham, 21, pleaded guilty, while Malachy Damien Hayes, 18, also of Arroyo Grande, pleaded no contest to felony elder abuse.
Both of the men admitted a great-bodily-injury enhancement along with multiple aggravating factors, according to a news release from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.
Under California’s Three Strikes law, the enhancement makes it “a serious and violent felony” and a strike.
After considering arguments from the counsel, Probation Department reports, letters submitted on the defendants’ behalf and the victim’s statement, Judge Crystal T. Seiler sentenced both defendants to serve 364 days in county jail and placed them on formal probation for four years. The two men were also barred from using any social media as “a special condition of probation,” the release said.
The county’s Probation Department recommended probation with one year in county jail, while the District Attorney’s Office argued for the maximum sentence of seven years in state prison.
“This elderly man was homeless, asleep and completely defenseless when he was humiliated and brutally beaten, leaving him with a permanent brain injury,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in a statement. “He was especially vulnerable, and he is entitled to protection and dignity as a human being.”
“Our office sought a state prison sentence because this predatory, recorded attack on a sleeping victim warranted the strongest response the law allows,” Dow said. “Although we are disappointed that probation was granted instead of prison, we respect the Court’s authority and will continue to stand with victims and advocate for firm, just consequences for violent offenders.”
Seiler suspended the five-year state prison sentence for each defendant due to the defendant’s youth, lack of criminal history and willingness to accept responsibility, the release said.
2 men sentenced after kicking, peeing on elderly man in SLO County park
The attacked occurred around 1:30 a.m. on March 20 when Hayes and Brigham walked to Elm Street Park in Arroyo Grande and approached a homeless man asleep in the park’s gazebo, the release said.
According to surveillance video and police reports, Hayes stood over the man, identified as Douglas Mark, and started peeing on him. He was “roused by liquid splashing on his face and body” and tried to stand, but Hayes started punching him in the face and head, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Brigham then joined in the attack — and video-recorded the assault on his phone — as the two continuously struck the man while he was on the ground, punching and kicking him in the head, face and body, according to the release.
At one point, Hayes’ shoe flew off due to “the force of the beating.” He paused to put the shoe back on and then proceeded to kick the victim in the head again. Brigham also kicked Mark in the head a second time, the release said.
Phone records from the two men showed that during and following the attack, they “could be heard laughing, egging each other on and celebrating the assault — including high-fiving one another afterward,” the release said.
They also boasted about the incident and shared video of the attack on Snapchat, the DA’s Office said.
Arroyo Grande police later witnessed what looked like dried blood on Hayes’ shoe and knuckles and “swelling consistent with a hematoma on Brigham’s hand” — injuries that were consistent with a repeated attack on the individual, according to the release.
According to previous Tribune reporting, Mark suffered serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.
He told the court at sentencing that he still suffered from injuries incurred from the attack and that the two men were “devoid of any conscience,” according to the DA’s Office.
“For this to be considered probation is outrageous ... my eyes were filled of blood, (I) get headaches ... have a brain injury ... What if I died?” he said at sentencing. “My brain is broken, it doesn’t work right, I don’t think right ... They ruined my brain.”
Restitution for the victim is still pending with a hearing scheduled for both defendants on Sept. 14, the release said.
