Bomb plot defendant competent
Varnell can assist in his defense
Attempted bombing suspect Jerry Drake Varnell is “competent and able to assist properly in his defense,” his attorney wrote in a court document filed Wednesday.
Defense attorney Terri Coulter advised an Oklahoma City federal judge that an independent psychologist has already evaluated Varnell and found him competent.
Last week, the attorney had asked the judge to halt all court proceedings until it could be determined whether Varnell is competent for a trial.
“When counsel filed the motion, it was unclear whether Mr. Varnell was suffering from a mental disease or defect that rendered him mentally incompetent to the extent that he was unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense,” Coulter wrote.
The defense attorney wrote she concurs that Varnell is competent and that “no additional psychological testing is warranted.” She is asking to withdraw the request for a competency hearing and to move forward with rescheduling a preliminary hearing and detention hearing.
Varnell, 23, of Sayre, was arrested early Aug. 12 after trying to blow up a downtown Oklahoma City bank with what he
thought was a vehicle bomb, the FBI reported. An undercover FBI agent, though, had helped him construct the device, which was inert, authorities said.
He allegedly parked the vehicle in an alley behind the BancFirst building
at 101 N Broadway early Aug. 12. He then left the area and attempted to detonate the fake bomb with a “burner phone,” the FBI reported.
In a statement released last week, Varnell’s parents said their son has been in and out of mental
hospitals since he was 16. The parents claimed the FBI knew Varnell was schizophrenic and “made this happen.” The parents also stated the FBI “should not have aided and abetted a paranoid schizophrenic to commit this act.”