Valley man charged in beating at gravel pit

PALMER -- Charges were filed Wednesday in the near-fatal beating of a young man last summer at a Palmer gravel pit.

Tommie E. Matthew Jr., 27, was charged with first-degree assault in connection with the beating of William Burke, 30, which occurred Aug. 7, 2001.

According to police reports, a fight involving five or six people broke out at a gravel bar near Mile 9 on the Old Glenn Highway. Someone called 911 to report that the suspects were swinging metal baseball bats and several people were hurt.

Witnesses told Alaska State Troopers that a party at the gravel bar near Knik River went out of control. A fight broke out at about 2 a.m., during which Matthew reportedly swung a bat full force and hit Burke on the back of the head. A witness said she ran over to Burke because she thought he was dead, according to police reports.

The caller told dispatchers the suspects were leaving the scene in a white van and a dark gray truck with a silver tool box in back.

Troopers pulled over a white van at the intersection of the Parks and Glenn highways later that night. The driver was identified as Matthew and with him were five teen-age passengers who said they all had just returned from a party in Anchorage.

Two victims, Burke and an unidentified 17-year-old, were contacted at Valley Hospital by Trooper Anne Sears. Both victims were conscious, with severe head lacerations and bleeding. Neither person remembered getting hit or knew what happened, Sears reported.

Burke had been brought to the emergency room by friends. Medical records indicated there was no alcohol in his blood. He suffered from subdural temporal bleeding, a ruptured eardrum and a possible skull fracture.

The 17-year-old victim reportedly had a depressed skull fracture and a blood-alcohol level of .202.

Matthew is set for arraignment April 2.