‘Delusional’ R.I. man crashes Cape base

A Rhode Island man who police said sped through a security checkpoint at a Cape Cod military base yesterday has been battling delusions for months, according to his griefstricken mother who says she’s unsuccessfully tried to get him help.

“He’s just delusional. You can’t even talk to him. He went from an honor roll student and a football hero and never having done anything (criminal), to this,” said Myra Lamkins, who said she didn’t know why her son, Harold “J.R.” LaMotte, would have driven to the Joint Base Cape Cod early yesterday.

“He needs some help and it’s impossible to get it,” Lamkins said.

“I’ve called places to try to get him help. He’s seeing a counselor once a week. I don’t want him to go to jail. He needs help, not jail.”

State Police said LaMotte briefly stopped at the Bourne gate of Joint Base Cape Cod in a car with Rhode Island plates, then sped off onto the compound around 1:40 a.m. yesterday.

Air Force security alerted state police, who found LaMotte after he turned onto Estey Road and crashed into a utility pole, police said in a statement.

After he was taken to the state police barracks in Bourne, LaMotte became “combative” and tried to escape custody before troopers were able to subdue him, police said.

The Charlestown, R.I., man faces a lengthy list of charges, ranging from trespassing and speeding to assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. He was being held on $25,000 bail at the Barnstable House of Correction ahead of an arraignment scheduled for today.

Although state police said LaMotte’s motives were still under investigation, they noted there was no evidence he is a threat to national security.

Lamkins said her son attended the Community College of Rhode Island and the University of Rhode Island after starring in football at Westerly High School.

“He’s not a violent or criminal person,” she said, adding that LaMotte even called the police on himself in Connecticut after one episode several weeks ago.

“I don’t know if that was a cry. I had to sit and wait for this to happen. I don’t believe he would ever hurt himself or anyone else.

“He’s going through something right now and none of us know what it is,” she added. “He’s been trying to tell me he’s been under a program and being tested and being watched. He’s delusional.”

Joint Base Cape Cod is a sprawling, 22,000-acre military compound and is home to five military commands, including the Army National Guard at Camp Edwards. It also serves as Coast Guard family housing for nearly 2,000 residents, according to its website.