Teens Held in Beating Death Tell of Attack

Three teenagers accused in the beating death of a homeless man at the Ventura River bottom have described the fourth defendant as the one who provoked the attack and delivered the most damaging blows.

Timothy John Becker, Christopher Michael Dunham, both 18, and Rocky Mattley, 14, told investigators that Robert Allen Coffman, 18, repeatedly stomped on the victim’s head and even coached one of the teenagers on how to kick the man, according to a search warrant affidavit.

The four are charged with murder in the June 29 death of James Richard Clark, 58, whose body was found near a bird estuary at the foot of the Ventura River. The three 18-year-olds are eligible for the death penalty.

In a jailhouse interview earlier this week, Coffman gave a conflicting account of what happened the night Clark was killed, one that minimized his role in the attack. Coffman admitted his part in the beating of Clark but denied being the leader of the group. He said he kicked Clark several times while Clark was on the ground, but left while the homeless man was still alive. “They’re all trying to say I did it, but I did the least,” said Coffman, who faces an attempted murder charge in a separate stabbing incident July 1. “I kicked him a few times, but then I left for the beach.”

He said the other three told him they had returned to Clark’s camp and hit him repeatedly in the head with large rocks. Clark’s body was found by a city maintenance worker the next day.

Like Coffman, the other three defendants told investigators that their altercation with Clark occurred after a night of drinking and pot smoking near an area of the Ventura River bottom known as Hobo Jungle, according to the affidavits. The court documents do not include Coffman’s statements to police about the beating.

In the affidavit, Becker told detectives that Coffman took Clark’s backpack and rifled through the contents, prompting the four to circle the homeless man and begin kicking him.

Becker, Dunham and Mattley admitted to kicking Clark and throwing large rocks at him after confronting him near his camp. But they denied striking the blows that killed the Army veteran.

Becker admitted to detectives that he hit Clark in the face with a marijuana bong but later grew concerned for the man’s safety. Dunham told investigators he pleaded with Coffman to stop beating the man and said he only kicked Clark once “to be cool like them.”

Mattley recalled how Coffman jumped up and down on the man’s head and upper body and even instructed the 14-year-old on how to kick Clark in the lower legs.

The affidavit also alleged that Coffman and the others were involved with local white skinhead groups. When asked by police whether he knew the 14 Words, a phrase written by noted white supremacist David Lane, Coffman repeated the phrase, “We must secure the existence of our race and a future for our white children.” But Coffman denied any association with skinhead gangs.

Coffman, Becker and Dunham have all pleaded not guilty to murder and face a preliminary hearing Sept. 17.

Mattley’s arraignment hearing was postponed Friday in Juvenile Court until Aug. 30. Prosecutor Maeve Fox said she will ask a judge to try Mattley as an adult. Lawyers for the four teenagers declined to comment on the case.