State Rules No Conflict in Locally Prosecuting Alvarez

The state attorney general’s office has determined that Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury does not have a conflict of interest in the case of David Alvarez.

The 22-year-old Ojai man remains the prime suspect--though he has yet to be charged--in last month’s strangulation of Oak View teenager Kali Manley. Alvarez’s father is a friend and political supporter of Bradbury.

But in a letter released Thursday, the attorney general’s office determined that the relationship between Bradbury and the elder Alvarez did not warrant moving the case from Ventura County if charges are filed.

The decision means that Bradbury’s office can file charges against Alvarez once authorities complete their investigation into Manley’s slaying.

“We believed they would conclude that there was not a conflict of interest sufficient enough to recuse us,” said Greg Totten, chief assistant district attorney. “From our perspective, it’s good that we can keep the case with local prosecutors.”

A Nordhoff High School freshman, Manley was last seen Dec. 20 outside a convenience store with Alvarez and another man. Alvarez led authorities to Manley’s remains a week later in a drainage pipe in Los Padres National Forest, and the medical examiner determined that she had been strangled.

During an exhaustive search for the girl, Bradbury sent a letter to the attorney general stating that Alvarez had emerged as a key suspect in Manley’s death. The letter was sent as a precaution to determine whether a conflict existed.

Bradbury explained that the suspect was the son of his friends and supporters, Eugene and Maria Alvarez. He said that he has dined with the couple in the past and that they rode horses together.

“Although I do not believe I have a conflict of interest in these matters, I wanted to bring the matter to your attention and to solicit your opinion,” Bradbury said in his letter, dated Dec. 24.

Two days later, David Alvarez led Bradbury and other law enforcement officers to a remote culvert at Pine Mountain where Manley’s body was recovered.

Alvarez is expected to face murder charges in the coming weeks after the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department concludes its investigation, authorities said.

Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, said staff members with the office’s criminal law section researched whether the circumstances in Bradbury’s case warranted recusal.

“It’s a very high standard,” Barankin said. “In our opinion, that standard had not been reached.”