A defense attorney is challenging charges refiled against a Vancouver man accused of assisting in a 2012 homicide near Vancouver Lake.
Shon Bogar on Thursday asked that charges against his client, Zachary J. Mattson, 21, be dismissed because the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office violated Mattson’s constitutional right to a speedy trial. Mattson is accused of helping convicted murderer Matthew Starr cover up the February 2012 shooting death of their roommate near Vancouver Lake.
Judge Scott Collier declined to immediately rule on Bogar’s request and scheduled a Wednesday hearing.
Starr, 21, admitted in November to fatally shooting his roommate, Joshua R. Schenk, 25, after they went target shooting on Lower River Road near Vancouver Lake with Starr’s two friends, Mattson and Zackery Searcy, on Feb. 29, 2012. Starr apparently wanted Schenk dead so that he could take his valuables, according to prosecutors.
Starr initially told investigators that one of the shooting party’s rifles accidentally discharged, striking Schenk, and Starr then shot Schenk in the back of the head to put him out of his misery. In November, however, he pleaded guilty to first-degree premeditated murder. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Mattson helped Starr drag Schenk’s body to a resting place about 4 or 5 feet away from the shooting location and cover it with a plastic tarp, according to court papers. He allegedly also misled investigators about what happened on the day of the murder.
Later, Mattson confessed that “he saw Matthew Starr raise the .22 rifle and shoot Schenk in the back of the head,” according to court papers. Mattson said “he was afraid to tell the truth before because Matthew Starr had threatened to kill both he and his girlfriend,” court papers say.
Mattson was arrested in Jan. 4, 2013, in connection with the case and charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance, tampering with physical evidence, making a false or misleading statement, obstructing a law enforcement officer and intimidating a witness. He spent 56 days in the Clark County Jail before charges were dismissed Feb. 26, 2013, because more investigation was needed, Bogar said.
In his motion, Bogar included a copy of an invoice from private investigator John Visser. The invoice states Mattson spoke freely to detectives about the case in February 2013. It also suggests that there might have been discussion of a settlement between the then-prosecutor on the case, Kasey Vu, and Mattson. The invoice states that on Feb. 25, 2013, Visser “met with Mattson about case details and PA (Prosecuting Attorney) settlement.”
Vu said he isn’t authorized to comment on whether a settlement had been reached or discussed because criminal charges are still pending against Mattson.
Mattson was arrested again May 21 when all but one of the charges — intimidating a witness — were refiled. Since his arrest, he has spent another 15 days in jail, Bogar said.
“The prior case was dismissed, but there is no apparently new information that the government has outlined in the probable cause statement to which it did not have access when it dismissed the case,” Bogar wrote.
In total, Mattson has spent 71 days in jail related to the case.
Under court rules, defendants who are in custody are entitled to go to trial within 60 days of their arraignment date unless they sign a waiver of speedy trial. Court records show that Mattson signed a waiver of speedy trial on Jan. 17, 2013, which also would have been his arraignment date.
Deputy Prosecutor Dan Gasperino filed the pending charges against Mattson but was not involved in his case when the previous charges were dismissed in February 2013. He said he wasn’t prepared to respond to Bogar’s motion Thursday because he hadn’t had time to review it.
Mattson pleaded not guilty Thursday to his pending charges. At Bogar’s request, Collier reduced Mattson’s bail from $30,000 to $20,000.
Searcy, who drove Starr, Mattson and Schenk to Lower River Road on the day of the murder, pleaded guilty in May 2013 to first-degree rendering criminal assistance and was sentenced to 366 days in prison, according to court records.
