Father seeks facts about son’s death

Funeral for man who died in police custody will be Sunday.Seeking a deeper understanding of his son’s death in police custody, Terry Dunlevy came to Laguna Beach this week hoping to bring home answers to his family as they prepare for the young man’s funeral in Arizona on Sunday.

“I don’t want to accuse or blame, I just want closure,” Dunlevy said.

Matthew Dunlevy, who was 25, died Jan. 6 while in the Laguna Beach jail. Earlier that night he had been arrested on suspicion of public intoxication at a local bar-restaurant, the White House. The Orange County District Attorney’s office is investigating.

Frustrated that the investigation has gone on for nearly six weeks, Terry Dunlevy has been working with a lawyer to gather more information.

The Fountain Hills, Ariz., man is a retired medical equipment designer and builder.

Dunlevy, who is meeting with Laguna Beach police officials this week, said he has many questions for them.

“I believe there’s film of everything that happened. From the bar, to in front of the watch commander’s car, to in the jail cell,” Dunlevy said.

Employees of the White House restaurant, where Matthew Dunlevy was taken into custody, said Dunlevy was acting strangely so they called police.

Five hours after the arrest, he was found in his cell not breathing, police said.

Terry Dunlevy called his son a “free spirit” who was very outgoing, and had been drifting from city to city for about seven years, doing odd jobs in construction.

In Laguna Beach, he listed his address as a local homeless shelter, but Terry Dunlevy said that Matthew’s circumstances had changed for the better just before his death.

“My wife and I both talked to him on the day he died,” Dunlevy said. “He said, ‘I put money down on a place for a month’s rent, but I’ve decided I don’t want to live like this, I want to come home.’ ”

The next day the couple was notified by the District Attorney of their son’s death.