A 28-year-old Santa Barbara man pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder and other charges related to his alleged role in a vehicle incident in Montecito that left one young woman dead and another injured earlier this month.
Lanie Tyrone Richardson is facing second-degree murder and other felony counts stemming from what sources have confirmed to Noozhawk was a “car surfing” accident.
Richardson was the driver of a Toyota 4-Runner involved in the East Valley Road incident on June 6, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Allison Meadows, 26, of Santa Barbara suffered fatal injuries in the incident, which occurred sometime between 5 and 5:30 a.m., according to the CHP.
A second woman, Lindsay Keebler, 25, of Santa Barbara, was seriously injured.
Richardson’s arraignment was continued from Wednesday so that Richardson could get an attorney, and he is now being represented by Deputy Public Defender Rafael Amezaga.
In addition to the not-guilty plea, Richardson also denied special allegations he’s facing. He also has been charged with manslaughter while intoxicated with gross negligence, causing great bodily injury to another person, and with prior DUI convictions; DUI causing serious bodily injury with prior DUI convictions; and driving with a license that has been suspended or revoked due to DUI.
He has also had three previous DUI convictions, according to court records.
Richardson was ordered to return to court on July 12 to have a preliminary hearing set.
Richardson’s bail in the case has been set at $1 million, and he remains in custody at Santa Barbara County Jail.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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