BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - A 19-year-old Wyoming man charged with shooting three good Samaritans on Montana’s Crow Reservation had ingested “a considerable amount” of a drug that can cause psychotic episodes before he was arrested, according to his defense attorney.
Jesus Deniz Mendoza faces trial March 27 in the July 2015 shooting deaths of Jason and Tana Shane and the wounding of their daughter.
The family had been attempting to help Mendoza on a roadside near Pryor when he shot them with a rifle, according to authorities.
Federal Defender David Merchant said in a court filing Wednesday that evidence in the case suggests Mendoza had been using the drug spice, sometimes referred to as synthetic marijuana, before his arrest.
Merchant did not further specify when Mendoza took the drug. He was arrested about 2 ½ hours after the killings by authorities in neighboring Wyoming, where authorities say he was spotted driving the Shanes’ car.
Mendoza has said he will rely on an insanity defense at trial. He was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression and post-traumatic syndrome, according to Merchant.
The defense plans to introduce testimony from Penn State University researcher Antolin Llorente saying spice can cause psychotic episodes and delusions and exacerbate many mental illnesses.
During a December competency hearing for Mendoza, federal Bureau of Prisons psychologist Cynthia Low said she did not believe Mendoza’s use of spice had incapacitated him based on his behavior and answers when he was being interrogated by investigators, according to court documents and news reports.
She described his use of the drug as severe and said he also was addicted to methamphetamine.
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