Hearing Delayed in Teen’s Murder Case
A Juvenile Court hearing has been postponed until Sept. 13 to decide whether a Ventura teen charged with murder in the beating death of a homeless man should be tried as an adult.
The Ventura County district attorney’s office will ask a judge to move the case to criminal court, where 14-year-old Rocky Mattley would face tougher penalties if convicted.
On Thursday, Deputy Public Defender Howard Asher asked the Juvenile Court judge to give him more time to research the issue. Asher is questioning whether a hearing establishing the evidence against his client must be held before the fitness hearing.
Mattley is one of four teenagers accused of bludgeoning 58-year-old homeless veteran James Clark to death as he slept near the Ventura River bottom in June.
Robert Coffman, Timothy Becker and Christopher Dunham, all 18, have pleaded not guilty to murder charges in Ventura County Superior Court. Their preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 17.
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