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Thread: Death Penalty Off the Table for Jesse Warren in 2010 GA Shooting Spree

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    Death Penalty Off the Table for Jesse Warren in 2010 GA Shooting Spree




    Kennesaw Shooting Suspect To Face Death Penalty

    KENNESAW, Ga. -- The man accused of killing three people during a shooting spree at a truck leasing facility will face the death penalty.

    Deputy chief assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans said Friday that a death sentence will be sought against Jesse James Warren, 60.

    The former Penske employee is accused of returning to the facility near Kennesaw on Jan. 12 and firing multiple rounds from two handguns. Warren, of Temple, faces murder and aggravated assault charges.

    Two Penske employees, Van Springer and Roberto Gonzales, and a customer, Jaider Marulanda, were killed. Two other employees, Joshua Holbrook and Zach Werner, were critically injured.

    The widow of one of the men has filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming Penske knew a disgruntled employee had made death threats.

    http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/23111138/detail.html

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    Man Charged In Penske Murder Spree To Face Death Penalty

    A former employee accused in a deadly shooting spree in Kennesaw was in court monday as prosecutors formally filed their request to seek the death penalty.

    Jesse James Warren, 60, of Temple, Ga., sat in court with two rows of victims' families looking on, according to Channel 2's Ross Cavitt. Warren was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

    Prosecutors said Warren ambushed workers inside a Penske Truck Rental & Leasing in January. They said he killed Robert Gonzalez, 31, of Dallas, Van Springer, 59, of Woodstock, and Jaider Marulanda, 43, of Lawrenceville, and wounded two others.

    Four of the victims were Penske employees while Marvlanda was a truck driver for a local food distributor that is a Penske customer.

    Brian Hard, the president of Penske Truck Leasing said he believed the gunman choose his victims at random.

    "It appears to have been random, to come in and shoot one of our customers who couldn't possibly have been involved in any grievance," Hard said.

    Barbara Springer, whose husband of 37 years was killed, said her husband didn't speak much about Warren, but she knew he had been laid off recently and that "he had some issues."

    Penske spokesman, Randy Ryerson, said Warren was a former employee of the Penske business.

    Cobb County police spokesman Joe Hernandez said the suspect worked at the business for several years but it was unclear when and why he left.

    Warren, dressed in camouflage, entered Penske Truck Rental & Leasing at 3011 Barrett Lakes Boulevard just before 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, and opened fire, according to police.

    Warren confronted someone in the parking lot and moved to an area where there are truck bays, shooting victims, Hernandez said.

    "He opened fire, striking the victims," said Hernandez.

    All of the victims were in a warehouse section of the business when they were shot.

    Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Warren

    http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24061874/detail.html

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    Penske shooting victims still coping a year later

    In the next five months, Erika Marulanda will graduate from medical school in New York and marry her fiancé in Atlanta -- milestones her father won't be there to see.

    Jaider Felipe Marulanda, 43, of Lawrenceville was one of three men killed in a shooting spree a year ago Wednesday at Penske Truck Rental near Kennesaw. Two other men were critically wounded.

    "I still have trouble facing the reality of it," Erika Marulanda, 25, said this week, her voice crackling with emotion. "One day, I talked to him on the phone. The next day, my mom told me he was dead. I don't sit down and cry anymore like I used to, but it doesn't really get any better."

    About 1:30 p.m. Jan. 12, 2010, police say a former employee of Penske, clad in camouflage and carrying two weapons, opened fire at the facility at 3011 Barrett Lakes Blvd. Jesse James Warren, 61, could face the death penalty if convicted in the slayings of Marulanda, who went there to get his rental truck serviced, and two Penske employees: Roberto Gonzalez, 31, of Dallas, Ga., and Vance Springer, 59, of Woodstock.

    Two other employees, Joshua Holbrook, 28, and Zach Werner, 36, survived but were critically injured. Multiple attempts to contact Holbrook and Werner in recent months have been unsuccessful.

    Prior to the shooting, Warren, an unemployed truck mechanic, lived with his wife on a 44-acre homestead in Temple. He lost his job at Penske in 2009 after four years of employment there, and company officials said his "separation" was "not part of a large economically driven layoff."

    While the exact motive for Warren's alleged rampage remains unclear, friends, neighbors and court records indicate he had been having difficulty finding work and that he was having financial problems.

    Warren's case could go to trial later this year, said Cobb County Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans.

    Evans, the lead prosecutor, said that 90 percent of numerous pretrial motions required to be heard in a death penalty case have already been disposed of.

    However, Warren still has the right to a pretrial appeal, which could delay the trial for several months.

    Warren's next court date is Thursday. Superior Court Judge Mary Staley will hear pretrial motions concerning the admissibility of statements that Warren made to a Cobb County detective after the shooting.

    Evans said the victims' families were on board with the decision to seek the death penalty for Warren and they have attended many of the pretrial hearings. He said the families of Holbrook and Werner have been guarded with the media as they continue to work toward recovery.

    "Obviously, it's a trying time for them, to say the least, but they've been very active and supportive of the case," Evans said.

    Erika Marulanda hasn't focused as much on the case as the memories of her father. She said he was a kind person, friend to many, and quick to say, "I love you" to family members.

    "It's hard to put everything into words," she said. "We're just trying to take it one day at a time. Some days are better than others. Some weeks are better than others. We're just trying to keep as normal life as we can."

    http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/penske-...ll-801531.html

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    Penske murder suspect claims company stole $500 million from him

    The man accused of opening fire at a Penske truck rental a year ago, killing three, gave a rambling interview to police shortly after the shooting in which he claimed Penske had stolen $500 million he had earned from a "top secret" project in the Marines, the Marietta Daily Journal reports.

    Jesse James Warren, 61, of Temple made the bizarre claim in a videotaped interview with a detective. Warren said he had worked on a "top secret" project as a Marines supply clerk that earned him the money, and that Penske found out, took the money, and fired him in July 2009, according to the report.

    "The money caused a big uproar, whose money it was," Warren said in the interview, played during a Thursday hearing in Cobb County Superior Court. "It's my money, it's my money and it was my money anyways. I'm going to get my money. And it caused a big uproar."

    Warren said he tried unsuccessfully to file for unemployment twice, and that losing the money and his job caused a lot of problems for him and his wife, Virginia, according to the report.

    But when Warren was asked about the events of Jan. 12, 2010, the former mechanic said only that he parked his truck in the facility's front lot around 2 p.m.

    "I don't really want to answer any more questions," Warren said, according to the report.

    The state is seeking the death penalty against Warren. He is accused of killing customer Jaider Felipe Marulanda, 43 of Lawrenceville; Penske employees Robert Gonzalez, 31, of Dallas, Ga., and Vance Springer, 59, of Woodstock. Two other employees, Joshua Holbrook, 28, and Zach Werner, 36, were critically injured but survived.

    The case could go to trial later this year.

    Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans said after the hearing that he did not know whether Warren had been given a psychiatric evaluation, or if the defense planned to request one, according to the report.

    http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/penske-...ms-803863.html

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    Court hearing postponed for alleged Penske shooter

    A Friday afternoon motions hearing in the death penalty case against the alleged Penske truck shooter, Jesse James Warren, has been postponed.

    The judge has not yet scheduled a new court date, according to the lead prosecutor, Jesse Evans.

    Cobb police say Warren, 60, returned to the Penske truck rental facility near Kennesaw where he once worked on Jan. 12, 2010 and opened fire on several people.

    Killed in the shooting were customer Jaider Felipe Marulanda, 43, of Lawrenceville; and Penske employees Robert Gonzalez, 31, of Dallas, Ga., and Vance Springer, 59, of Woodstock.

    Two other employees were critically injured.

    http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/court-h...or-877077.html

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    Man injured in Penske shooting files $20 million lawsuit

    An employee who was incapacitated when a disgruntled former co-worker allegedly shot up the Penske Truck rental facility near Kennesaw last year has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the company. Werner was among five people who were shot on Jan. 12, 2010, when police say former Penske employee Jesse James Warren barged into the facility carrying two weapons and opened fire. Three men were killed and two were injured.

    Zach Werner worked on trucks at the Penske facility and was shot that day. A bullet lodged in his brain stem, reducing the vibrant father of three to a bed-ridden invalid incapable of breathing or eating on his own. Werner, 37, communicates now by blinking his eyes and squeezing your hand, said his attorney, R. Keegan Federal Jr.

    Werner's wife, Jodi Marie Warner, is his primary caregiver with the assistance of some home healthcare providers at their Marietta home. The lawsuit provides the first insight into how Werner has fared, because his family has shied away from the media spotlight since the shooting.

    "He's in what's really one of the most horrible conditions because his mind is still there," Federal said. "There are some things worse than death, and I'm pretty sure Zach's living it."

    By law, Werner cannot sue his direct employer, Penske Truck Leasing Co., because he receives worker's compensation from them. The lawsuit targets related business entities, Penske Truck Leasing Corp., Rollins Leasing Corp.and Rollins Leasing LLC, along with Warren.

    A spokesman for Penske said the company became aware of the lawsuit early Monday.

    “Our legal team is in the process of evaluating it further," company spokesman Randolph P. Ryerson said in an email. "Since this is now a matter of ongoing litigation we cannot provide any additional comment about it at this time.”

    The lawsuit says the companies had been warned numerous times that Warren, who was fired in July 2008, planned to "attack, maim and kill individuals at the premises." The lawsuit also alleges that Warren had received psychiatric treatment at the request of Penske employers at some point prior to the shooting.

    Penske hired security guards for a time, but the company did not take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of employees and customers and determine if the threats were valid, the lawsuit said.

    Warren made bizarre claims to police about his motive in a rambling post-arrest interview. He said the company stole $500 million he earned from a "top secret" project in the Marines, and then fired him.

    Cobb County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Warren, who is being held without bond awaiting trial.

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    May 26, 2013

    Penske Murder Trial is Delayed: Suspect Deemed Unfit to Appear at Court Date

    By Rachel Miller
    The Marietta Daily Journal

    MARIETTA — The murder trial in the January 2010 Hertz Penske Truck Rental shooting will be further delayed after a preliminary evaluation of suspect Jesse James Warren, 63, declared him unfit for Tuesday’s scheduled court date.

    A medical evaluation indicated Warren is incompetent at this time, and on May 9, Judge Mary Staley directed the sheriff’s office to transport Warren to the Georgia Regional Hospital in Atlanta for further psychological observation, according to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.

    Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans said the decision was not a final ruling on the motions filed March 4 by Warren’s lawyers for pleas of incompetency and insanity.

    “There has not been a definitive finding one way or another,” Evans said.

    Evans added that the next step is a round of inpatient evaluation and treatment, and that there is no time frame on when a doctor’s assessment will be completed.

    Warren is accused of shooting five people at Hertz Penske Truck Rental in Kennesaw, where he allegedly opened fire inside the facility just before 2 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2010.

    Jaider Felipe Marulanda, 43, of Lawrenceville; Robert Gonzalez, 31, of Dallas; and Van Springer, 59, of Woodstock were killed in the shootings. Two others — Joshua Holbrook of Cartersville and Zachariah Werner of Marietta — were injured.

    Warren faces 16 counts of murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and possession of a firearm in a death penalty trial with the Cobb County Superior Court.

    In March, Evans said it has taken more than three years to bring the case to trial because of the 100 motions that are routinely submitted when dealing with a death penalty case.

    Evans added that the further delay this month is part of the process and he has to be patient.

    “Hopefully, in the very near future we will be able to go forward with the case and get it completed,” Evans said.

    There is no trial date scheduled at this time, according to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.

    http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story...-at-court-date

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    June 26, 2014

    Accused Penske shooter ordered to take his meds

    MARIETTA — The man accused of killing four people in a Kennesaw shooting is being ordered to take anti-psychotic medication.

    Prosecutors say Jesse James Warren opened fire at the Penske Truck Rental and Leasing center in Kennesaw, where he once worked, just before 2 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2010.

    A medical evaluation in 2013 indicated Warren is incompetent, and Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley directed him to undergo psychological observation at that time.

    Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans, the chief prosecutor in the case, said Wednesday Warren is “essentially refusing to take medication.” Evans said the medication would help control Warren’s mental issues so he can, ideally, be brought to trial.

    Staley ordered Warren to take the medication Wednesday in response to a pre-trial motion filed by the state.

    Evans could not say specifically what medications Warren is being required to take, but only he has declined to take two different prescriptions and medical experts could prescribe others for him.

    Warren is being required to take the medication, Evans said, because Warren has pleaded not guilty to the shootings by reasons of incompetency and insanity.

    Warren is facing 20 counts of murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and possession of a firearm.

    He is accused of killing Jaider Felipe Marulanda of Lawrenceville, Robert Gonzalez of Dallas and Vance Springer of Woodstock, who all died within 24 hours of the shooting, and Zach Werner of Marietta, who died three and a half years later as a result of his injuries.

    Warren is also accused of critically injuring Joshua Holbrook of Cartersville.

    Springer, Gonzalez, Holbrook and Werner were Penske employees and Marulanda was a customer, the MDJ reported in 2013.

    No trial date has been set yet, but Evans called Wednesday’s hearing an “important step” in prosecuting Warren.

    “Families have been struggling with how difficult it’s been to bring this case to trial,” he said.

    http://mdjonline.com/bookmark/253480...-take-his-meds

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    Ga. high court overturns forced medication of alleged Penske truck company shooter

    The Georgia Supreme Court has thrown out a court order that would have forced a man accused of the 2010 shooting rampage that killed four people at a Penske Trucking Company to take anti-psychotic medication so he could stand trial for murder.

    One Rome man was seriously injured in the shooting.

    According to a Supreme Court of Georgia release:

    The Supreme Court of Georgia has thrown out a Cobb County court order that would have forced a man deemed mentally incompetent to take anti-psychotic medication so he could stand trial for murder.

    In this high-profile case, the State is seeking the death penalty against Jesse James Warren for the 2010 shooting rampage at the Penske Trucking Company that left four dead.

    But in today’s 53-page decision, written by Justice David Nahmias,“we conclude that the trial court’s order was insufficient in numerous respects to justify Warren’s involuntary medication for the sole purpose of making him mentally competent to stand trial for the very serious crimes he is accused of committing.” As a result, “we vacate the trial court’s order and remand the case for further proceedings in light of this opinion.”

    According to briefs filed in the case, on Jan. 12, 2010, Warren, armed and dressed in camouflage clothing, went to the Penske truck rental facility in Kennesaw, GA and opened fire, shooting five men, four of whom were employees. A fifth was a customer who happened to be there at the time. Three died within a couple of days of the shooting. The fourth died more than three years later. The fifth shooting victim was paralyzed. Warren had previously worked at the facility before being fired in 2008. He was originally indicted with three counts of murder, and the State filed notice it would seek the death penalty. After the fourth man later died, Warren was re-indicted in October 2013 with four counts of malice murder and four counts of felony murder, along with a number of other charges.

    Warren’s attorneys filed a Notice of Intent of Defense to Raise Issues of Insanity, Mental Illness, or Mental Retardation. They also filed a Special Plea of Mental Incompetency to Stand Trial. Following a hearing, the trial court ordered he be evaluated by doctors from the Georgia

    Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. Following an examination by Dr. Brian Schief, a psychiatrist, and Dr. Don Hughey, a psychologist, who diagnosed him with “Delusional Disorder, Mixed Type,” in May 2013, the trial court found Warren, 60, incompetent to stand trial. The judge ordered he be committed to the Department of Behavioral Health for further evaluation. Since then, Warren has remained in Central State Hospital, a state psychiatric hospital. In September 2013, Drs. Schief and Hughey notified the court that Warren remained incompetent. Among his delusions, he told police following his arrest that he had been awarded $500 million for his work in the Navy on a broadband communication project and that it had been stolen, according to briefs filed in the case. He also believed he was the Son of God, had been given his name by the Masons, and members of his church were “out to get him.” The State filed a Motion to Compel Involuntary Antipsychotic Medication, his attorneys opposed the motion, and following a hearing in June 2014, the judge granted the State’s motion to force the medication. Warren’s attorneys then appealed the pre-trial ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court.

    His attorneys argued the trial court’s ruling did not meet the four-pronged test set out in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Sell v. United States. Under Sell, four requirements must be met to force the administration of antipsychotic drugs solely for the purpose of restoring defendants to competency: A court must find that an important governmental interest is at stake; that the administration of the drugs is “substantially likely to render the defendant competent to stand trial” and “substantially unlikely to have side effects” that will interfere with his ability to assist his lawyer in conducting his defense; that involuntary medication is necessary because other less intrusive treatments are unlikely to achieve the same results; and that the medication is medically appropriate.

    Today’s opinion addresses each of the four parts of the Sell test in detail, finding “clear errors in the trial court’s ruling.” In relation to finding an important governmental interest, while the trial court’s findings were incomplete, “the court did not err in its conclusion that the State demonstrated important governmental interests in rendering Warren competent to stand trial, and those interests are not offset by any special circumstances of the case.” “Warren is accused, among other crimes, of shooting five people, killing four of them and paralyzing the fifth,” the opinion says. “These are crimes against persons of the most serious magnitude.”

    However, with regard to the remaining three steps of the Sell test, the trial court’s order merely recites the relevant language from Sell, providing insufficient written findings for the Supreme Court to review. The “fundamental problem” with the trial court’s ruling on the second, third and fourth parts of the test “is that the court has not specified what antipsychotic medication or medications may be forcibly administered to Warren, in what dosage or range of dosages, for what period of time, and with what oversight by the court,” the opinion says. “This is a problem created by the State – which drafted the order the trial court signed – because the State has not presented a specific treatment plan for Warren supported by expert testimony, nor can any particular treatment plan be readily discerned from the evidence offered at the hearing.” This is not the first time the issue has come up. At the hearing on the State’s motion, Warren’s attorneys asked the trial court to require the State to provide a specific treatment plan, but the State objected and the court denied the request. The State has contended that it is impossible to establish a specific treatment plan for Warren, the opinion says, because the only way to know how any given patient will respond to antipsychotic medication is to administer various drugs and see what happens through “trial and error.”

    But “Sell did not condone – nor will this Court allow – trial courts to cede oversight of such a significant constitutional matter to the State, allowing its doctors to force a mentally ill criminal defendant to take whatever medications in whatever dosages and for whatever period of time they consider appropriate,” the opinion says. “We would hope that the State’s physicians, as healthcare professionals, would not misuse such unfettered authority, but history teaches that involuntary medical treatment, especially of the poor, the outcast, and the incarcerated, is worthy of close and independent oversight.”

    Today’s opinion points out that since the June 2014 hearing on the State’s motion to force medication, it is possible Warren’s mental and physical condition has changed or that new scientific information is available regarding antipsychotic drugs and their likely effectiveness and side effects. “Consequently, if the State elects to pursue its motion for involuntary medication on remand, the trial court should allow the parties to present additional evidence to ensure that the court’s findings are based on current circumstances,” the opinion says.

    http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/...621ae029d.html

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    Accused mass shooter committed to psychiatric hospital

    By Associated Press

    MARIETTA, Ga. – A man accused of killing four people and wounding a fifth in a 2010 Georgia workplace mass shooting has been involuntarily committed to a prison psychiatric hospital.

    Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said in a news release Tuesday that 67-year-old Jesse James Warren, of Temple, Georgia, opened fire at a Penske truck-leasing facility in Kennesaw on Jan. 12, 2010. Three men were killed that day, while a fourth succumbed to his injuries three years later. Another person was injured but survived.

    Investigators described Warren as a disgruntled ex-employee.

    Psychiatrists determined that Warren is not competent to stand trial, testifying that he refuses to take anti-psychotic medications. At a hearing Tuesday, a doctor testified that Warren is still refusing medication for his disorder and is a danger to the community.

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/01...-hospital.html
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