FORT SMITH -- A Barling man who is claiming mental disease as a defense to a charge he shot a jogger last summer was not insane at the time of the shooting, according to a mental evaluation report.
The report by State Hospital psychologist Paul Deyoub filed in Sebastian County Circuit Court also said John Suleski, 25, had the capacity to assist in the preparation of his defense.
Suleski is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree unlawful discharge of a firearm in the July 11 shooting death of Brent Morrison, 44, as he jogged on a road at Chaffee Crossing in southeast Fort Smith.
His jury trial is scheduled to start July 5.
Deyoub conducted his court-ordered examination of Suleski on May 10, according to the report. He concluded that Suleski was suffering from depression, for which he was being treated with Prozac and Zyprexa in the county jail, but did not have a mental disease or defect.
Suleski had "the culpable mental state" to commit murder, could appreciate the criminality of his actions and could conform his conduct to the requirements of the law, Deyoub concluded in the report.
Suleski's attorney, Erwin Davis of Fayetteville, filed a motion March 1 stating that Suleski would rely on the insanity defense. In it, he stated, "There is reason to believe that the mental disease or defect of the defendant will or has become an issue in this case, both at the time of the alleged offense and that defendant is or may be unfit to assist in his own defense."
In a summary of Suleski's background included in the evaluation, Deyoub said the former Marine was under pressure in his life.
He had a wife and young child for whom he had trouble providing. He had a part-time job at Summit Medical Center in Van Buren, was going to the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith where he had studied pre-medicine before switching to general studies, and was enlisted in the Arkansas Air National Guard.
The report said he and his wife were having trouble paying their bills and were not able to keep their health insurance because it was too expensive.
"He and his wife were arguing more," Deyoub wrote. "He felt like he was 'too spread out' with his job, school and his marriage and the Guard."
According to a police report, Suleski told a Fort Smith police detective after the shooting that he had left home after his wife returned from work about 4:30 a.m. or 5 a.m. July 11 and drove to Chaffee Crossing.
He parked along the side of the road, got out and picked some flowers for his wife and then got back in and put the barrel of a loaded .22-caliber rifle in his mouth, the report said. He said he had been thinking about killing himself for the two previous weeks.
He said he saw a bicyclist ride by and thought about shooting him, but the cyclist passed too quickly for him to aim properly, the report said. Then he saw Morrison jogging toward him. He shot Morrison in the back from 138 feet after he passed and continued to fire even after Morrison fell to the ground. Morrison suffered gunshot wounds to the chest, back, leg and head.
The detective asked Suleski why he shot Morrison and why he shot him so many times. According to the report, Suleski replied that he was very upset over his marital troubles and that his wife had spoken of divorce.
"John stated that he thought that if he shot and hurt someone else, his pain would stop, he would feel better," the report said. "I asked John Suleski if he felt better about himself after he shot Brent Morrison and [he] stated that he did not."
The report said that after shooting Morrison, Suleski put the rifle barrel back in his mouth to kill himself when another vehicle approached and the driver started asking him questions.
Chaffee Crossing is formerly part of Fort Chaffee. It is popular with joggers, walkers and cyclists because it has a developed road system and light traffic.
State Desk on 06/21/2016