Doctors refute claims of bomb plot suspect’s insanity

Psychiatrists at federal prison have found a Mount Croghan teen accused of plotting to blow up Chesterfield High School last year competent to stand trial, refuting his lawyers’ claims that he may be insane.

Ryan Schallenberger, 19, was sent first for a mental evaluation at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, N.C., in 2008, months after his arrest in connection with the plot.

The details of the examination are sealed, but doctors at the facility said they found him competent to stand trial.

After his initial examination, Schallenberger was evaluated by Dr. Rikki Halavonich at the request of his attorneys, federal public defenders Mike Meetze and Bill Nettles.

Halavonich diagnosed Schallenberger with major depressive disorder, single episode severe with psychotic features and obsessive compulsive disorder, according to federal documents.

As a result of this, the teen was “unable to appreciate the nature and quality or wrongfulness of the acts that constitute the alleged offenses,” according to statements attributed to Halavonich in federal medical documents.

Nettles and Meetze gave notice of intent to rely upon the insanity defense in March and consented to his undergoing a second mental evaluation to determine if he had a mental illness or defect, such as being insane, at the time he was charged with a crime.

Schallenberger was taken to the North Carolina facility after Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rose Mary Parham and Buddy Bethea, who are prosecuting the case, asked that the second evaluation be conducted at the same facility by the same people who examined Schallenberger last year.

The medical examiner who conducted the second evaluation found that at the time of his alleged offenses, Schallenberger was able to appreciate the nature and quality or wrongfulness of his actions.

During his time at the facility, the examiner spoke with Schallenberger’s mother by phone to gain more insight.

His mother told doctors her son completed developmental milestones early, excelled academically and didn’t have a history of behavioral problems in school. She went on to describe him as a perfectionist who was easily overwhelmed when he faced unfamiliar environments and people, according to court documents.

His mother said he became more outgoing in the year prior to his arrest and made new friends.

But she also recalled an episode when Schallenberger became angry and threw a chair against a wall and stormed out of their home.

After the incident, he was taken to a hospital emergency room after expressing he wanted to kill himself. A family doctor later prescribed Schallenberger the medication Zoloft.

His mother told the examiner she believed Schallenberger had been depressed since middle school and he appeared calmer and less anxious around people when he took Zoloft as prescribed, according to court documents.

Two months later, Schallenberger stopped taking Zoloft but continued to do well in school and was accepted to a state college.

Doctors said in a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Bryan Harwell the teen is ready to return to court for legal proceedings and is stable, though he will need to continue taking the antidepressants Prozac and Risperdal which had been prescribed to him.

Schallenberger’s trial is scheduled to began in August.

On April 19, 2008 Schallenberger was charged in a three-count indictment with receiving and attempting to receive an explosive with the knowledge and intent that it would be used to kill, injure or intimidate an individual, and damage and destroy a building, vehicle, or other real and personal property. If convicted of this charge, he faces a maximum possible prison term of 10 years.

He also is charged with attempting to damage and destroy real property owned, possessed or leased to Chesterfield High School and the Chesterfield County School District, by means of fire and an explosive. This crime is punishable by a mandatory minimum prison term of five years and a maximum possible term of 20 years.

In addition, he is charged with possessing an unregistered destructive device. If convicted of this charge, he faces a maximum possible prison term of 10 years.