Suspects Unaware Beaten Man Died, Records Show Three Teenagers Being Held; Police Have A Fourth Suspect

Three teenagers accused of beating a homeless man in a Spokane alley last fall didn’t know he died until they heard it on the news and confirmed it in the newspaper, according to court documents.

Nathaniel Jacob Haux, 17, Isaiah L. Ridley, 19, and James Patrick Sweeney, 18, are each being held on $250,000 bail on second-degree murder charges.

Police have a fourth suspect but have not charged him.

Court records show Sweeney bragged about the attack to friends in a Hillyard home. He was high on marijuana and speed at the time, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

When asked by detectives why they attacked the man, Haux said, “Just so my reputation didn’t drop,” according to records.

The attack occurred Sept. 12, 1998, in an alley at Pacific Avenue west of Browne Street.

An officer discovered 44-year-old John M. Bock with a bloody nose. He was intoxicated and said four men tried to rob him, but they didn’t get anything, according to court documents.

Bock lost his glasses in the attack and couldn’t give any description of the teens, documents show. He died two days later at Sacred Heart Medical Center. An autopsy determined Bock died from a blow to the head with a blunt object.

Spokane police Detective Chet Gilmore later found a ball cap containing Bock’s hair and his eyeglasses near a smashed bottle of beer, according to documents.

Ridley and Haux denied any knowledge when interviewed by police. Haux was reinterviewed in Portland two months ago and told detectives he was involved in the attack. Ridley told detectives last month in Seattle he was in on the assault.

Haux said they were walking east-bound down the alley when they passed a transient who was walking in the other direction.

One hit the man in the back of the head with a 22-ounce beer bottle. Another smashed a bottle on his head as he fell.

The teenagers were charged Monday. Two were in jail on previous charges - Sweeney in Thurston County on unrelated charges and Haux in Spokane Juvenile Detention on charges of possession of a dangerous weapon and vandalism.

Ridley was arrested Sunday by King County authorities.