Mattos to face murder charge in beating death
Published 11:47 pm Monday, February 11, 2008
LYNNWOOD — The brutal beating death of Dennis Brockman in 2006 may have been an act of retaliation.
Federal agents in 2004 allegedly videotaped Brockman buying guns from Carl Dennis Mattos as part of an undercover investigation. Mattos was eventually indicted on federal charges and spent several months in federal detention.
Mattos, 47, was arrested Friday for investigation of first-degree murder in Brockman’s slaying. Neighbors found Brockman’s body Feb. 7, 2006, inside his Lynnwood-area mobile home.
Witnesses reportedly told homicide detectives that Mattos was seeking revenge because Brockman snitched on him, according to a police affidavit filed Monday in Everett District Court.
Federal officials have been in contact with Snohomish County prosecutors about the possibility of moving the case to U.S. District Court, deputy prosecutor Bonnie Tweten said.
If that happens, “It could be a death penalty case,” Tweten said. “It certainly could go capital at the federal level. It’s up to the feds.”
She plans to charge Mattos with first-degree murder today in Everett District Court. He was ordered held in the Snohomish County Jail on $500,000 bail Monday.
A second man, Adam Ulanowski, 30, already has been charged in the slaying.
He was arrested last year in Colorado after detectives tracked him down through property stolen from Brockman’s mobile home. More than one person told police that Ulanowski allegedly talked about the killing and taking money, drugs and personal belongings from the victim.
Brockman, 63, was a known drug dealer who kept large amounts of cash in his house, court papers said. He also was a partner in a pawnshop and often had jewelry, watches and tools.
Investigators earlier reported that Brockman was killed during a robbery. More evidence led them to investigate Mattos and his ties to Brockman.
Federal court documents show that Mattos was arrested in 2006 after he allegedly sold guns to an informant who was working with an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The informant is not named in court papers.
Mattos was indicted on two felony charges, including being a felon in possession of a firearm.
He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge after federal prosecutors learned that the confidential informant was using drugs and dealing drugs to the targets of federal investigations, according to court records.
Mattos served about four months in prison for the charge. He has served additional time for failing to meet the conditions of his release, including continued drug use.
An ATF agent in June told Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives that Mattos ended up in prison because of the gun sales he made to Brockman. He was released from federal custody about five weeks before Brockman’s killing.
After he was arrested Friday at his probation officer’s office, Mattos reportedly told detectives he knew Brockman. Mattos said the two used to take drugs together and that he knew Brockman had turned him over to the federal government, documents show. He also allegedly said he hadn’t seen Brockman since he was charged and only learned of the man’s death through his attorney, according to the police affidavit.
Mattos reportedly asked to talk to an attorney when he was asked about Brockman’s murder.
Herald writers Jim Haley and Jackson Holtz contributed to this report.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
