The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department arrested three men on Sunday on charges of murder and conspiracy for a September assault of a homeless man who never regained consciousness from his injuries. Roman Romero, 18, Jonathan Andrade, 20, and Carlos Medina, 44 — all area residents who often went to Granny’s Field behind the Turnpike Shopping Center, where the alleged assault took place — were booked into Santa Barbara County Jail, each at $1 million bail.
Richard Alden Boden, 51, was found unconscious in the field on September 16. Boden, who was also known to frequent the site, was taken to the hospital but never regained consciousness after weeks of treatment. He died last month after his family asked that he be removed from life support. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Boden’s autopsy showed that he died as a result of complications from his injuries.