4 Teens Arrested in Slaying of Transient

Four Ventura County teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder in the beating of a homeless man while partying last month at a Ventura transient encampment, police said Tuesday.

Additionally, two of the teens are suspects in the stabbing of another man at the Ventura beachfront promenade about a day after the slaying, police said.

“A murder and an attempted murder in such a short period of time. . . . It’s pretty unusual and pretty sad,” Ventura Police Lt. Quinn Fenwick said.

Detectives are investigating whether the foursome has gang ties, but Fenwick said the killing appeared to be a crime of opportunity and the stabbing the result of an ongoing argument.

Timothy John Becker and Christopher Michael Dunham, both 18 and from Ventura, and a 14-year-old Ventura boy were arrested Monday night after they arrived at the Ventura police station for questioning, Fenwick said.

Becker and Dunham remained in Ventura County Jail on Tuesday night on suspicion of murder, each on $500,000 bail. The boy, whose name was not released, was being held at Juvenile Hall without bail.

Robert Allen Coffman, 18, of Oak View was arrested July 1, the day of the stabbing, on suspicion of attempted murder in that case. He is also being held on suspicion of murder in the beating. His bail is $1 million.

Police believe that Coffman wielded the knife in the promenade stabbing and that the juvenile was with him at the time, along with several other youths who have not been arrested, Fenwick said.

According to police, the stabbing investigation and Coffman’s subsequent arrest helped detectives identify the suspects in the slaying.

According to Fenwick, the foursome was partying at a homeless encampment at the Ventura River on June 29 when they allegedly beat to death James Richard Clark, 58, and stole his belongings.

Clark had roamed Ventura’s streets for more than two decades and had been living in the river-bottom encampment off Main Street for five years, Fenwick said. His body was found the morning after the beating in nearby bushes.

Fenwick said several of Clark’s possessions had been recovered but would not reveal whether a weapon had been found.

An autopsy found that Clark died from blows to his head. His only survivor, a nephew in Thousand Oaks, handled his uncle’s funeral arrangements.

Assistant Police Chief Gary McCaskill lauded detectives for making swift arrests in the killing.

“We worked just as hard to solve this crime as if it was one of our parents,” McCaskill said. “He was a member of the community and his social standing doesn’t matter.”

The stabbing occurred at 12:30 a.m. July 1 when Daniel McGrath, 19, of Ventura was sitting with his girlfriend on the beachfront promenade, police said.

The knife severed an artery in McGrath’s left arm, requiring surgery.

McGrath told police he knew one of his attackers.

“Coffman’s friends knew McGrath and believed he had apparently insulted one of their relatives,” Fenwick said.

Prosecutors were expected to review the cases today and decide on charges, police said. The adult suspects could appear in court for arraignment as early at this afternoon.

Information about a court appearance for the juvenile was not immediately available.