Bail denied: Jailed teen's team blames drug, immaturity
Family–- and alleged victims–- of Patrick Crider gathered at his bond hearing in Albemarle General District Court.PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE
Patrick D. Crider, 18, the Western Albemarle High School student arrested January 14 for threatening to kill four of his classmates one day earlier, will remain in jail.
"I cannot find, Mr. Crider, you are a reasonable risk," said Judge William Barkley at a hearing Monday, January 25, in Albemarle General District Court. The defendant, a slight young man wearing jail stripes, sobbed when the judge announced his decision.
In issuing his ruling to deny bail, the judge cited Crider's present and past psychiatric issues, and the number of people on Facebook that Crider specifically identified and described how he would kill.
Psychiatrist Vanessa Camperlengo testified that while Crider had emotional issues, he was not a threat to himself or others. She suggested that his threat-making may have been the result of an incorrect dosage of Celexa, an antidepressant.
"I see it as a disturbing episode with Patrick at the bottom of an emotional pit," she said.
But apparently it wasn't the first time Crider had made threats. According to Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Darby Lowe, there was a prior fright-inducing incident on December 11. Then, Lowe said in court, Crider sent text messages and made phone calls to one of his fellow student victims, and the student felt threatened enough to call 911.
Legal analyst David Heilberg says Virginia legal code classifies threats according to the means of transmission. For instance, he says, a face-to-face threat may go unpunished while telephoned threats can be misdemeanors, but written threats–- including emails and text messages–- can be treated as felonies.
"That doesn't sound right," says Heilberg, "but that's the law."
Defense attorney David Franzen pointed out that Crider was recently evaluated at UVA Medical Center where experts concluded it was best for him to be released to his mother's custody. Upon his release from the hospital, he was arrested.
Based on evaluations at UVA and in jail, Franzen repeated his contention that Crider, with no history of violence or criminal record, poses no danger to himself or others.
"That's not to say the people in the courtroom who were subject to his threats should not be concerned," Franzen acknowledged. "We're dealing with a young man who was emotionally upset. He exercised immature judgment in that regard."
Crider will be back in court February 18 for a preliminary hearing on the charge of making threats of death or bodily injury, a Class 6 felony.
15 comments
It's very evident that he was angry, all people get angry, sometimes a little too much. In this case, I know what he was going through and even though it seems awful to say things like this, i think that he is very sorry about it and should be able to go to cousiling and come back to real life little by little. I know he has emotional issues, but i also know he is a very nice and sweet kid. And though his age is 18 he really shouldn't be tried as an adult, he is a kid, not out of high school, going though a lot of stress at home and at school and that leads to bad decisions. I hope that he will be helped and will not go to jail. Just give him a chance. Please.
Guess the parents are off the hook, again.............they should be slapped as well.
Thanks to my Dad, teachers and coaches from the 50's and 60's. I still recall the day of the belt for sure........
There was a time in the 60's and 70's when a judge would give you time in jail or time in the military- most took the military and got their heads straightened out and are better for it today.
To correct the above, I a 42, not 2! And I fully blame Celexa for any bizarre behavior exhibited by anyone taking it, out of my own, very non-scientific, but horrifying experience. The so-called studies and scientific information on anti-depressants does not even exist except for manipulated and cherry picked data. At this point, it would be impossible to have an objective view on anti-depressants, so I would choose to err on the side of caution. Anything that alters a person's state of mind should be highly suspect until proven positive beyond the shadow of a doubt, that's what they hold people and juries too, right. Should be the same for the pharma companies.
@Rosiecee: I am a neurological adolescent (20) currently taking an SSRI (escitalopram, which is mere the left-handed isomer of citalopram, which is Celexa) for OCD who has experienced no "mania, psychosis, abnormal thinking, paranoia, hostility, etc." in about five months of use.
I don’t mean to deny that psychotropic drugs can have behavioral side-effects. But I think it is unscientific scapegoating to declare that Celexa "is probably the cause of his thoughts of violence and his bizarre actions in writing about them on Facebook", and to imply that
I am not saying that it could not be the cause, or perhaps one of several contributing factors. I don't think we yet have enough evidence on the matter to decide one way or another on this particular case. It is quite possible that other factors could be wholly or partially responsible.
Those taking antidepressants generally do so in an attempt to manage existing psychological distress, and those psychological factors might be more responsible for Crider's behavior than his meds.
The fact that in SSRI users under 25 there’s a statistically significant increase over controls in the *rate* of unusual aggressiveness, suicidal thoughts etc. does not imply that such effects are responsible for this incident, nor even that most adolescent users of SSRIs develop such side effects. Indeed, most adolescent users don’t develop such effects according to: http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/ac/04/briefing/2004-4065b1-10-TAB08-Ham... (cf. Table 1 on Page 8), which is the study that initially prompted the FDA’s ââ?¬Å?black box” warning requirement for SSRIs.
By the way, though increased *suicidal ideation* has been demonstrated in adolescent SSRI users, the rate of *actual suicide* lower than that of the control population (which includes those possibly taking psychotropic drugs other than SSRIs, e.g. tricyclic antidepressants) according to a study using a different methodology: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/11/1898
With respect to the bigger picture, studies permitting psychological factor analysis are hard to do; I don’t know of (which doesn’t mean there aren’t any) studies that have demonstrated increased homicidality in adolescent SSRI users.
@swamp rat, GSOE, and OBSERVANT: Actually, as noted in an overview of the subject by the National Conference of State Legislatures:
"In 2002, a report released by the U.S. Secret Service concluded that bullying played a significant role in many school shootings and that efforts should be made to eliminate bullying behavior"
The article defines bullying as "aggressive behavior or intentional harm by an individual or group repeated over time that involves an imbalance of power. The act of bullying can take various forms, including physical, verbal and psychological acts."
http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/Education/SchoolBullyingOverview/tabi...
Which I cite in support of my belief that receiving beatings from his peers would not have made him any less likely, and might have made him more likely, to make threats or even commit acts of violence.
I am disgusted that you would rather beat your children than work with them to address the problems they are having, which (if you think back to your time in high school) you hopefully realize are real problems, not merely endogenous flaws of character that can be struck out of a kid like impurities from iron. (lol, what a cheesy simile)
I for one can personally tell you that Lexapro (Celexa) is 100% permanent cure for depression. Once Mr. Crider figures this out and gets off this drug, he will agree. I was incorrectly prescribed Lexapro for 9 mos. during which I received 2 DUI's, 3 drunk in publics, and one involuntary commit for suicide. The PCP who gave me the Lexapro sexually harassed me in his office. I went to 2 rehab's a hypnotherapist, the looney bin, and hundreds of AA meetings. I am 2 years old and have NO PREVIOUS HISTORY of substance abuse or mental health treatment. The only thing that saved me was realizing that this drug was making me nuts or I'd still be in jail. The thought of ever taking this drug again, terrifies me. If I ever get down or sad, I can always think how much worse it would be to be in jail from the effects of this drug than WHATEVER life brings me now. I know I will never be depressed again.
I could probably say a few things here, and usually would... but I trust Judge Barkley's decision. :)
C'mon Gasbag! Let Rosie have it! "...probably the cause of his thoughts...," Geez!, let's not let go unanswered. Please.
quote: "You can thank all of the parents that like to ââ?¬Å?discuss” problems with their kids instead of explaining to them with a belt once in a while."
AMEN!!!!!
LOL.. IM ON PAXIL AND I DONT WANNA KILL NO ONE, OR MYSELF.......MUAAAAHHHHAAAHAAAAHAAA
I'll bet if one of those guys he threatend went up and beat the crap out of him for talking trash the first time it wouldn't have escalated. The school yard has fixed a lot of bullies.
You can thank all of the parents that like to "discuss" problems with their kids instead of explaining to them with a belt once in a while.
A GOOD WHOOPIN NEVER HURT ANY OF MY KIDS..
It's apparent the 18 year old has mental issue. And he may be a threat to society or himself.
However,I do not think jail is the best place for him. He should probably be locked up in a Mental Health Facility until the trial.
Very Sad.
The Celexa antidepressant, an SSRI antidepressant, is probably the cause of his thoughts of violence and his bizarre actions in writing about them on Facebook.
The Physicians Desk Reference states that SSRI antidepressants and all antidepressants can cause mania, psychosis, abnormal thinking, paranoia, hostility, etc. These side effects can also appear during withdrawal. Also, these adverse reactions are not listed as Rare but are listed as either Frequent or Infrequent.
Go to www.SSRIstories.com where there are over 3,500 cases, with the full media article available, involving bizarre murders, suicides, school shootings/incidents [52 of these] and murder-suicides - all of which involve SSRI antidepressants like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, etc, . The media article usually tells which SSRI antidepressant the perpetrator was taking or had been using.
Antidepressants can make youth violent. I bet if weaned off the drugs he would settle down. Seems like when you have a side effect from a drug you would remove the drug as part of the sentencing.
They should give him a knee bracelet that shocks him if he leaves the house. There is no benefit to exposing him to some of the lost causes already in jail.