Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Alleged bomber found competent to stand trial

Man's attorney requests second mental evaluation

By Shelley Grieshop
WAPAKONETA - An 18-year-old St. Marys man accused of planting a bomb at a local gas station was found competent to stand trial following the first of possibly two mental evaluations.
On Wednesday, Jesse B. McDermitt was found mentally competent after having a psychological evaluation at the request of his attorney, Mark Weller. McDermitt, who was indicted in April on six felony counts, has pleaded not guilty to the charges by claiming insanity.
But before Auglaize County Common Pleas Court Judge Frederick Pepple ruled on the competency matter during Wednesday's hearing, Weller informed him that he recently filed a motion to request a second psychological evaluation of McDermitt. This time, Weller is seeking the opinion of an independent psychologist from Lima instead of the Forensic Psychological Center for Western Ohio in Dayton, where McDermitt was brought June 18 and 29.
Weller said his client did not understand some of the questions posed to him during the first evaluation and blamed McDermitt's unstable mental condition.
After reviewing the 15-page report prepared by the Dayton-area psychologist, Pepple said he believes McDermitt was angry during the evaluation and may have been dishonest and manipulative when answering. Another evaluation likely won't be helpful, the judge added.
Near the end of the 45-minute hearing, Pepple said he'd take the motion for a second evaluation under advisement but gave no time-frame when he'd rule on the matter.
"I'm not going to promise anything," he added.
Pepple asked Weller and prosecutors Ed Pierce and Amy Beckett to meet with court schedulers to set a date for the first pretrial hearing in the case. In April, McDermitt agreed to waive his right to a speedy trial and reiterated that waiver in court on Wednesday.
Besides Weller, no one was in the courtroom on behalf of McDermitt, who was shackled and escorted in by two sheriff's deputies.
McDermitt is accused of leaving an improvised bomb in a bookbag beside one of the gasoline pumps at a Marathon gas station on South Street in St. Marys shortly before 8 a.m. Dec. 2. An employee spotted the bag and moved it to the entranceway of the business, assuming a student had left it behind.
About 45 minutes later, the bag was opened and wires and fluid-filled liter bottles were found inside. Police were summoned and later the Lima Allen County Regional Bomb Squad, which safely detonated the homemade bomb at a remote location.
Acting on a tip, police went to McDermitt's home at Townview Terrace Apartments later that day and found him allegedly wearing a second handcrafted bomb. That device allegedly fell from his shirt during a police search and also was detonated safely. McDermitt was arrested and later incarcerated without bond at a juvenile detention facility in Circleville, where he remains.
During the incident, St. Marys schools - located just a block away from the gas station - was placed on shutdown. McDermitt was not a student at the school.
A spokesman for the State Fire Marshal's office told The Daily Standard for an earlier story the two bombs could have burned but would not have exploded on their own. However, the bomb left at the gas station had potential to be dangerous had it burned near the gas pump where it was initially left, the spokesman said.
A grand jury indicted McDermitt in April for two counts each of carrying a concealed weapon, unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance and inducing panic. The charges are fourth- and fifth-degree felonies. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum 71/2 years in prison.
McDermitt's alleged actions on Dec. 3 violated probation terms from a 2006 criminal conviction for bringing weapons and explosives to school in Wapakoneta, where he was a student at the time. McDermitt reportedly told authorities he brought homemade explosive devices, shotgun shells, a gas mask and knives into the school because he was being harassed by other students.
In the 2006 case, McDermitt was charged with 10 crimes and sentenced to 21/2 years in juvenile detention.
Additional online stories on this date
A longtime Celina baseball coach was killed Wednesday in a freak mowing accident near Salamonia, Ind.
Ronald L. Fortkamp, 60, 2866 Philothea Road, Fort Recovery, was pronounced dead at the scene by Jay County Coroner Mark Barnett shortly after 5 p.m. [More]
As if the Celina/St. Marys rivalry game needed anything to heighten the intensity of the annual Battle of Grand Lake.
Not only are bragging rights on the line when the two rivals square off each year, but this season the Bulldogs and Roughriders are going to be playing for The Algae Cup. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Celina gets grant for Main Street reconstruction
The city of Celina has been awarded a $365,500 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) to help finance the forthcoming Main Street reconstruction project.
A 20-year-old Ohio City man will spend 30 days in jail on the work release program following a Wednesday morning appearance in Mercer County Common Pleas Court.
Sesame Street Live, the longest running touring show for children, is celebrating its 30th season with multiple performances of "1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo & Friends" next month at the Nutter Center in Dayton.
A week after squandering a 20-point lead in a 21-20 loss to Wapakoneta, Celina's football team has no time to think about what might have been with their rival coming to town.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
The top team in Division V battles the second-ranked team in Division VI at Booster Stadium in Maria Stein as the Coldwater Cavaliers and Marion Local Flyers square off for the 56th time in the Mercer County rivalry.
The Celina Bulldogs and St. Marys Roughriders share one of the most storied gridiron rivalries in west central Ohio.
In 1965, both strutted into t
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
St. Henry improved to 9-1 after wining a five-game marthon over Lehman on Tuesday night.
The Redskins won the open
The Redskins have been blazing to start the season, averaging 38 points per game and allowing just 28 points over the first three games.
This week,
Planted in low spots in lawns, they capture
Constructing and planting a rain garden to reduce stormwater runoff is a small thing every household can do to help preserve and protect the world's most valuable natural resource - water.