SLO District Attorney Expresses Disappointment In Homeless Man’s Attackers’ Sentences

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (KEYT) – Two men were convicted of felony elder abuse earlier this week after violently attacking an elderly unhoused man who was sleeping at Elm Street Park on the morning of March 20 of this year.

Both men, 21-year-old Boaz Winslow Brigham and 18-year-old Malachy Damien Hayes, also admitted to multiple aggravating factors associated with the attack which made their conviction count as a serious and violent felony and qualifies a strike offense under California's Three Strikes Law.

On March 20, 2026, around 1:30 a.m., surveillance video captured the two men approach Douglas Mark while he slept under an outdoor picnic area at Elm Street Park, detailed the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office in a press release Wednesday.

"As a lawyer, I would say that it's one of the most disturbing things that I've had to watch and see," says SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow.

Officials confirm they were intoxicated with alcohol and appeared to be smoking an undetermined substance.

"I don't know what that was," says Dow. "But bottom line, this was 1:30 in the morning and these young adults, adult men in our community, decided to leave their home after 1:00 in the morning to seek out and basically hunt this person who is helpless by himself, sleeping and trusting that he was going to sleep through that night safely."

According to local prosecutors, surveillance footage showed Hayes stand over the sleeping elderly man and begin to urinate on him until he awoke from the feeling of liquid splashing on his face he later told investigators.

"He was fast asleep when this senseless attack was inflicted on him," says Dow. "The investigation, led by the Arroyo Grande Police Department, quickly determined the identity of the two young men. And when they spoke with them, it was pretty quickly evident that they were the ones that had committed this crime. And they were cooperative."

As Mark struggled to his feet, Hayes began punching him in the head and face before Brigham walked into view of the surveillance camera and joined the attack noted the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.

Both men continued to punch and kick Mark as he lay on the ground and Brigham recorded the violent encounter on his cell phone added the local prosecutor's office.

"The video is pretty shocking," says Dow. "It shows the shoe of the one defendant, Mr. Hayes, flying off of his foot as he's kicking the victim. He goes and retrieves that shoe and comes back and kicks him in the head again."

Records retrieved from both of the attackers phones captured the duo laughing and celebrating the assault, even high-fiving at one point, during and after the attack and they later shared video of the incident with others on Snapchat explained the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors asked for seven years in state prison for the pair, the maximum sentence available, but the San Luis Obispo County Probation Department recommended probation with one year in county jail, shared the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney'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? My brain is broken, it doesn't work right, I don't think right...They ruined my brain," shared Douglas Mark in his statement to the court before adding,"They are devoid of any conscience."

Judge Crystal T. Seiler considered the provided arguments and reports, reviewed letters submitted on behalf of the defendants, and a victim impact statement submitted to the court before placing both men on formal probation for four years, condition on serving 364 days in county jail detailed the local prosecutor's office.

Both men were immediately remanded into the custody of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office to begin their jail sentence upon completion of the court proceedings added the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's office.

According to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, a special condition of the defendant's probation prohibits them from using any social media for the entirety of their formal probation term and a restitution status hearing has been scheduled for both men on September 14, 2026.

"That will probably be one of the most difficult terms for them to abide with," says Dow. "I hope they do. If they don't, the judge has options to send them back into custody up to five years in state prison. I can understand that this is her decision, but we're disappointed with it. I think that prison would have been a more appropriate sanction."

We have reached out to Brigham and Hayes’s attorneys for comment but have not heard back.

"This elderly man was homeless, asleep, and completely defenseless when he was humiliated and brutally beaten, leaving him with a permanent brain injury," Dow stated. "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. 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."