Cleveland HS grad to star in streaming true crime drama

LOS ANGELES — A Cleveland High School alumnus is set to star in a new streaming platform series about a Santa Monica man who was a victim in a high-profile sexual abuse case involving a police officer.

Cody Tavella, a 2017 CHS graduate, will play Shawn “Bone” Martin in the series “I am Bone” on Tubi beginning March 28.

“If you enjoy a film that you can sit down and cry, but also enjoy action, this is a film that has both,” Tavella said in an interview from his San Fernando Valley home. “It goes into the underside of L.A. … and how (‘Bone’) was able to change his life for the better after realizing that he needed to get out of the gang.”

The series premiere marks the acting debut for Tavella, 26, an occasional actor and CHS student-athlete who ran track and helped lead the Storm football team to a state championship win in 2015.

Fast forward a decade, and Tavella recently found himself in Beverly Hills for the star-studded movie showing, which included his uncle Frank Powers and Martin, who were both executive producers.

“After we played the movie, everybody got up out of their chair, clapping (and) yelling, ‘Bone!’” Martin said. “It was the craziest premiere I’d ever been to in my life.”

Powers wrote in an email that Martin’s story was important to share because it shows how child sex abuse can “push a child into a path that is not theirs.” The goal of the film, Powers added, is to “help children speak up and get actual help” — not by “alternative means that can eventually destroy their lives.”

The film chronicles the life of Martin, who, as a teen, played sports at a Santa Monica youth facility to avoid following in the footsteps of some of his family members who had ties to gangs. One day, a volunteer police officer, Eric Uller, raped Martin after confronting him at the facility for no apparent reason other than knowing his gang-affiliated family members. Following the encounter, Martin said he “didn’t have no choice” but to join a gang to protect himself from law enforcement. 

But as a gang member, Martin said he broke the law several times and ultimately spent more than a decade in prison over federal drug charges, which he said were spurred by Uller to cover up his own previous sexual abuse.

Martin said he filed a lawsuit against Uller and the city of Santa Monica immediately after his prison sentence, and what followed, he said, were lawsuits by more than 200 victims who said they were molested by the officer. Uller was arrested and charged in 2018 before committing suicide before his first court appearance, according to a 2023 Los Angeles Times article. Though Uller’s victims did not see criminal justice, they received a $122.5 million settlement approved by the Santa Monica City Council — the largest sum ever paid by a city related to the actions of a single sexual perpetrator, the Times reported. The settlement has since grown to over $200 million.

Martin, who received about half a million dollars from the settlement, went on to become an executive producer and writer with Powers.

Tavella, who moved with a friend to the Los Angeles area in 2022, got involved with “I am Bone” after receiving a call from his uncle, who wanted him to make music for the film. When Tavella wasn’t working odd jobs, he was producing rap and hip hop with his friend.

Tavella and Martin initially connected over the phone to discuss music for the film, but when Martin later saw a picture of Tavella on social media and realized how much the two of them looked alike, he decided to cast Tavella as Bone. Martin and Powers were about to cast someone else.

“I’m like, ‘Frank, I don’t want to interview (the other possible cast member) — I want Cody. He looks like me when I was younger,’” Martin, 42, said. 

Tavella recalled the moment Martin cast him, saying he’d rather have someone he knows play Bone.

“He asked me right there … and I stood there for a second, just dumbfounded, like this is not at all how I expected my morning to go, and said, ‘Yeah, that sounds like a blast!’” Tavella said 

While he didn’t know much about Martin’s story before filming, Tavella said it appeals to him because “you get both sides of a life” in watching Martin start as a youth athlete before transforming into a gang member.

“You can just see with his story exactly the moment where his reality and his life just completely alter and change in every aspect,” Tavella said. 

With Rio Rancho in the rearview mirror, Tavella is basking in his newfound talent, admired by Martin.

“He absolutely killed it,” Martin said. “When you see the movie, you’re not even going to believe how well he did.”

A Tubi representative declined comment. “I Am Bone” premieres March 28 on the platform.