SANTA BARBARA – Lanie Tyrone Richardson plead not guilty to charges including second degree murder in the alleged car surfing accident.
Richardson was once called a Good Samaritan by law enforcement, and was eventually arrested for manslaughter and then charged with murder. His arraignment was continued to Thursday morning and he was assigned a public defender.
The 28-year-old Santa Barbara man is charged with second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, a DUI causing injury and driving on a suspended license.
"This is not a case that even merits criminal prosecution," said Rafael Amezaga, Richardson's public defender. "This is a tragic accident. This is a bunch of young people that made very poor decisions; there was no intent for anyone to be harmed."
Amezaga said law enforcement has labeled the June 6 accident that killed 26-year-old Allison Meadows as car surfing. But the lawyer will want to reconstruct the accident to determine exactly what happened.
"Probably close to 50 or 60 deaths nationwide are attributed to car surfing. It's kids that make poor decisions and you watch it on TV or see it on some video and think, ‘I can do that too,' and it's one of the stupidest things you can do. But kids learn and unfortunately the hard way sometimes," said Amezaga.
The next step in the case will take place July 12 where a preliminary hearing will be set.
Amezaga does not believe his client will post bail and will remain at the Santa Barbara County Jail. His bail is set at $1 million.
