A senior county prosecutor says two young men shown in a deeply troubling video brutally attacking a homeless man received a sentence far lighter than the crime warranted.
Boaz Winslow Brigham, 21, and Malachy Damien Hayes, 18, pleaded guilty Monday to elder abuse in connection with the violent assault on 68-year-old Douglas Mark, who was sleeping in an outdoor picnic area at a public park in Arroyo Grande.
After spending roughly a year in county jail, both defendants were sentenced to four years of formal probation. Brigham and Hayes remain in the custody of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff.
The outcome fell short of what San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow had requested. Prosecutors had pushed for the maximum sentence of seven years in prison, but the judge opted for a lesser penalty after weighing the defendants’ ages, their lack of prior criminal records and their decision to plead guilty.
“It’s one of the most shocking cases I’ve ever had,” Dow told The California Post. “We were pretty disappointed that the judge did not sentence to prison like we asked.”
Surveillance footage from the early morning of March 20 showed the two young men approaching Mark as he slept around 1:30 a.m.
According to the video, Hayes stood over Mark and urinated on him, causing the sleeping man to wake up. As Mark attempted to rise, Hayes began striking him in the head.
In an interview with The Post, Mark said he first believed the sensation was water from sprinklers.
Mark had been sleeping in parks for three years because they were one of the few places where he could stay overnight and charge his phone.
“It just makes my blood boil when I think about it because it’s so demoralizing,” he said on the urination. “I can’t even — I get so mad I can’t even think.”
Brigham soon joined in on the pummeling, both punching and kicking Mark in the head, face and body while he lay on the ground.
Mark said he tried to lunge at their feet but one of them stepped back and grabbed him by the hair.
Brigham meanwhile video-recorded the assault, including the urination, on his cell phone.
“R. Kelly,” the recorder shouted during the incident, referring to the infamous hip-hop artist who was accused of peeing on young women. “I just pulled a R. Kelly, pissed on a homeless N—-,” bragged Brigham.
At one point in the video, Hayes kicked so hard his shoe flew off, the district attorney’s office said.
Mark said he later ended up being unconscious and called the police when he woke back up. “They left me for dead basically,” he told The Post.
He suffered broken ribs, stiches and a heavy concussion from the encounter.
The perpetrators later recorded another video to Snapchat at another location where they joked around about the incident. They focused the video on some of the dried blood and injuries on their hands and shoes from hitting Mark so hard.
Mark said he’s upset that the two men only got probation instead of prison time. He still suffers headaches and memory issues resulting from the beating, he claimed.
“This kid is a danger. I’m gonna let him have it with all I’m able to legally, because he’s a danger to society,” Mark said.
He has a roof over his head for now thanks to the kindness of a park employee, the homeless man said.
Mark helped build sets for Rob Reiner’s Lorimar Studios earlier in his life, and worked as an architectural landscaper. A series of family problems and a drunk driving incident about 30 years ago led him to the streets, he said.
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