Bomb plot defendant found competent
The man accused of trying to blow up a downtown Oklahoma City bank with what he thought was a vehicle bomb was found mentally competent Tuesday to face trial.
Jerry Drake Varnell, now 23, of Sayre, was arrested after an undercover FBI agent helped him construct the device with inert materials, authorities reported.
“You look good . ... Better put together,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Shon T. Erwin told Varnell after finding him competent.
The judge made the ruling Tuesday during a brief hearing in Oklahoma City federal court. The judge said Varnell is not presently suffering from a mental disease and can assist his attorneys in his defense.
Varnell appeared in court wearing an orange uniform and shackles around his ankles and wrists. He was alert, talkative with his attorneys and smiled often at relatives in the courtroom.
The judge said his finding was based on the results of a psychological evaluation Varnell underwent earlier this month in San Diego.
“The examining forensic psychologist ... concluded that defendant’s ‘present ability to understand the nature and consequences of the court proceedings brought against him, as well as his ability to properly assist counsel in a defense are not substantially impaired by a mental disease or defect,’” the judge wrote in a court document Tuesday.
The issue of Varnell’s mental state has been at the forefront of the case, primarily due to statements made by his family noting a history of schizophrenia.
Varnell also waived a detention hearing Tuesday. He remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Also Tuesday, Varnell was arraigned on his indictment, which charged him last month with one count of malicious attempted destruction of property used in and affecting interstate commerce. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday.
The maximum punishment for the offense is 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. A jury trial is set for January.
If Varnell fails to maintain his mental competency, he cannot be prosecuted unless he recovers.
Allegations
Varnell allegedly assembled a fake bomb in a cargo van. He is accused of then parking the vehicle in an alley behind the BancFirst building at 101 N Broadway early on Aug. 12.
Varnell then left the area and used a “burner phone” to dial a cellphone number he believed would detonate the bomb, the FBI reported.
Varnell’s parents claimed the FBI knew Varnell had schizophrenia and “made this happen.” The parents also stated the FBI “should not have aided and abetted a paranoid schizophrenic to commit this act.”
Varnell’s parents have said their son has been in and out of mental hospitals since he was 16. Records show Varnell has been treated in the past for schizoaffective disorder.