Posted by qwerty, a resident of the The Greenhouse neighborhood, on Oct 6, 2009 at 5:47 pm Judo champ jailed in train station beating
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, October 3, 2009
(10-02) 13:55 PDT MENLO PARK --
Matthew Walker, 25, of Tacoma, Wash., won his category in the 2009 President's Cup tournament held in June by USA Judo, the sport's governing body in this country. On Friday, however, he was in San Mateo County Jail on $100,000 bail stemming from the late-night incident at the Menlo Park train station.
Walker, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall and 275 pounds, is to be arraigned Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City.
According to prosecutors, the shorter, lighter victim, a 25-year-old man, and his 23-year-old friend from New York met Walker and a second man, Robert Davis, 22, of Redwood City, after they all got off the Caltrain headed home from a Giants game Tuesday night.
The Menlo Park man approached Walker - who was wearing a judo jacket - and they struck up a conversation about their shared passion, prosecutors said. The man had some training in aikido, prosecutors said.
"They start playing around - it gets out of hand from the victim's perspective and the victim asks Walker to stop," said Deputy District Attorney Morris Maya. "The play, or whatever it is, escalates and the victim says, 'Cut it out, this isn't funny anymore.' "
The New York man pulled out his cell phone either to photograph or film the confrontation. Davis, according to Maya, grabbed the phone and passed it to Walker.
Walker then allegedly demanded $20 to give it back.
Maya said the Menlo Park man then pulled out his own cell phone to call 911. Walker grabbed that phone, dropped it to the platform and Davis picked it up, Maya said.
"Both Walker and Davis then attacked the victims and beat them severely," Maya said.
The Menlo Park man ended up with a broken leg and facial wounds, Maya said. The New York victim was knocked out.
Menlo Park police saw the second victim wandering in the street and began an investigation. Both men were taken to hospitals for treatment.
Davis and Walker were found walking through a parking lot nearby. Police saw Walker tossing items into a garbage can that turned to be one of the victim's cell phones, prosecutors said.
Both men were charged with assault and robbery. Davis is free on $50,000 bail, and Walker is trying to hire a lawyer.
"Obviously, somebody who has a pretty substantial background certainly got carried away," Maya said. "It turned into a scenario when the defendant was more interested in demonstrating his dominance."
E-mail Jaxon Van Derbeken at jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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