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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 7, 2005 Russell Mattern, 57, of West 13th Street, has been plagued by vandals all summer long. A neighbor�s phone call helped police arrest three suspects on Monday. �I�m glad he�s got good neighbors looking out for him,� said Medford Police Lt. Mike Moran. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Perhaps, some peace Neighbors, police hope arrests will bring end to vandalism at home of disadvantaged Medford man By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune Russell Mattern doesn’t have a telephone, but his neighbors do. One nearby resident awoke at 1:30 a.m. Monday to the sound of paintballs slapping against Mattern’s West 13th Street home. The woman promptly called police, who arrived at the scene in time to arrest a 21-year-old man and two teenage girls on felony criminal-mischief charges. "I’m hoping this will put an end to it," said the Harrison Street resident who phoned police. The woman declined to be identified because she fears other young troublemakers might retaliate against her. "The whole neighborhood has been concerned" with ongoing vandalism at Mattern’s house, said neighbor Clyde Halfhill. "The guy’s learning-disabled ... (but he is) trying to live and make it on his own, and he has the right to live as a citizen here." Early Monday, the three suspects allegedly fired paintballs at Mattern’s house and placed a garden hose inside a mail slot next to the front door, partially flooding the living room. Police say the incident was the latest in a series of destructive and annoying occurrences at the home. Advertisement Neighborhood youths "have been tormenting the guy," Medford police Lt. Mike Moran said. "I’m glad he’s got good neighbors looking out for him." Police have been called to the neighborhood at least four times this summer to investigate cases in which troublemakers have encircled Mattern’s home with yellow tape, covered it in "silly string" and splattered it with paint, Moran said. The vandalism reached a new level one night in late August — the first time the house’s interior was damaged when a garden hose was shoved through the mail slot. "They ruined me some good sleep," Mattern said, recalling the incident. "They don’t have anything better to do than give me unwanted grief." Mattern, 57, was visiting relatives last weekend when vandals returned to his house to cause further damage. Besides finding water gushing into Mattern’s living room from a hose, investigators located a pair of paintball guns on the ground when they arrived at the scene and arrested Caleb Daniel Doak, 21, on first- and second-degree criminal mischief charges. Doak, of the 3100 block of Alameda Street in Medford, was lodged in the Jackson County Jail and remained there until Monday afternoon, when he was released because of overcrowding. A 14-year-old girl was lodged in Jackson County’s juvenile hall on a felony charge of first-degree criminal mischief, while a 17-year-old girl was cited on the charge and released to her parents, Moran said. Both girls are residents of the 300 block of South Orange Street. Neighbors say they believe additional suspects are responsible for previous incidents of vandalism at Mattern’s home. "Over the years, they’ve thrown stuff at him and spit on him," Halfhill said. "They’ve egged his house numerous times. He’ll come out and holler at the kids, but there’s not a lot he can do. It’s sickening the way they carry on. It’s not funny." West 13th Street resident Meghann Short said she cried last Christmas Day, when a thrown rock shattered a window at Mattern’s house. "They’ll do anything to mess with (Mattern)," Short said. "Would you do that sort of thing to someone with Down syndrome? Would you do it to someone with autism? This man’s really not that much different than that. He is completely harmless." Moran called Mattern "a friend of police" who is often seen collecting bottles and cans in downtown Medford. Mattern, who walks to work nearly every morning at Mr. Smith’s bar and grill on East Jackson Street, says he is appreciative of neighbors’ concerns. During an interview at his home, he paraphrased the Golden Rule in explaining why he feels troublemakers should leave him alone. "I don’t do this to others so they shouldn’t do it to me," he said. Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail Perhaps, some peace ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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