The three people charged with conspiring to kill a homeless man got him drunk Wednesday night before beating him behind Everett Arena and throwing him into the Merrimack River, prosecutors said yesterday.

And after Jonathan Evans, 19, had spent at least an hour in the river - bruised, cut and unconscious - Jamie Locke misled the police, further delaying Evans's rescue, according to prosecutors.

Locke, 33, and Thomas Croswell, 42, who are homeless, were arraigned yesterday on attempted murder charges and ordered held on $450,000 cash bail.

A third suspect, Robert Potter, 42, was ordered held on $300,000 cash bail on charges he joined with Croswell and Locke in conspiring to kill Evans. The three beat Evans, punching and kicking him, while trying to steal a pair of tan work boots, said prosecutor Tracy Connolly.

During arraignments yesterday in Concord District Court, Connolly said a witness saw Locke hitting Evans, who spent three days at Concord Hospital. And "we do have a witness who put (Potter) at the scene, involved in the attack on the victim," Connolly said.

She did not, however, say who witnessed the crime, which the police said happened in the wooded area behind Everett Arena, where a number of homeless people live in tents. And she did not explain how Evans, who was unconscious when the police arrived, survived an hour in the river.

But were it not for a witness, Connolly said, "he would not have been rescued."

Potter does not have a criminal record, but the two charged with attempted murder do, with Croswell's record dating back to 1986, Connolly said. It took her several minutes yesterday to read to a courtroom the list of his convictions, which includes bail jumping, disorderly conduct, simple assault, criminal trespass, theft, robbery, possession of controlled drugs and possession of prescription drugs.

Locke's criminal record includes multiple bail jumping convictions as well as convictions for criminal trespass, simple assault and receiving stolen property, Connolly said. Locke was out on bail when she beat Evans, Connolly said, citing that as a factor in her request for high cash bail.

Judge Gerard Boyle set bail at $450,000 each for Croswell and Locke: $100,000 for each of the charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree assault and robbery, and $50,000 for a resisting arrest charge. The two were inside an apartment Friday at the North Main Street building known as the Vegas Block when the police came to arrest them, according to a police report.

Locke refused to open the door for the police, and Croswell hid behind a bed, according to the police complaints.

Boyle took the same approach with Potter's bail, assigning $100,000 for each of the charges of conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree assault and robbery.

Potter is not homeless but took meals at the Friendly Kitchen. So did the other suspects, as well as Evans, according to several people standing outside the Friendly Kitchen yesterday afternoon.

A woman who wouldn't give her name said she knew the suspects said Evans's boots belonged to another homeless man. He didn't care that Evans had the boots - or not enough to do something about it, she said. But Locke was drunk and belligerent, the woman said.

"I don't know what to say," she said of the crime. "What if it was your kid?"

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