Interview by Police Contested

A 15-year-old Ventura boy accused of taking part in the beachside slaying of a homeless man last summer appeared in court Wednesday, as defense lawyers sought to suppress his statements to police.

Rocky Mattley is charged with murder in the fatal beating of 58-year-old James Clark, who died of severe internal injuries and a possible fractured skull.

Those wounds were allegedly inflicted by four teenagers who police say robbed Clark and then kicked, beat and threw rocks at him as he lay in a sleeping bag near the mouth of the Ventura River on June 30.

Police arrested Robert Coffman, 19, of Oak View; Timothy Becker, 18, of Ventura; Christopher Dunham, 19, of Ventura; and Mattley, and got conflicting statements from them.

Ventura County prosecutors later charged all four with murder but elected to prosecute Mattley in Juvenile Court because he was 14 at the time.

Mattley’s trial before a Juvenile Court judge began earlier this month with testimony from the medical examiner and continued Wednesday as defense lawyers pushed to throw out his statements to police.

At issue is whether the boy understood what he was doing when he waived his Miranda rights and consented to the July 9 interview after his arrest.

Judy and Matthew Mattley testified that police picked up their son in front of an apartment complex on Cedar Street in west Ventura and held him for five hours at the station. Despite their numerous frantic calls to police, they said, they were not allowed to speak to their son or be present during the interrogation.

Matthew Mattley testified that he called the detective division half a dozen times that night and was told only that his boy was being “detained.”

“If they were questioning him about any of this, I felt we had a right to be there,” the father said.

But Sgt. Jerry Thurston, who supervises the detective division, testified that police don’t need parental consent to interview a juvenile suspect. He also said neither of Mattley’s parents demanded to be present at the interview or came to the station that night.

Under further questioning by Deputy Public Defender Howard Asher, however, Thurston acknowledged that the parents sounded worried on the phone and clearly wanted to see their son.

As Thurston dealt with the parents that night, Mattley waived his rights to an attorney and implicated himself in the fatal beating, police said.

Det. Thomas Radman said the boy didn’t seem confused or unaware of his rights, and he never asked for his parents.

The trial and hearing on the Miranda issue are expected to continue today before Superior Court Judge John Dobroth. The case is expected to wrap up Friday.

If Dobroth finds that Mattley played a role in the killing, the boy could be held in a juvenile detention facility until his 25th birthday. The other three suspects are scheduled to stand trial April 26. They face possible life prison sentences if convicted.