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Doctor cites medical reasons why accused not responsible

There are medical grounds to consider a Consort area man accused of killing his brother not criminally responsible, the head of forensic psychiatry services for Alberta said Wednesday.

There are medical grounds to consider a Consort area man accused of killing his brother not criminally responsible, the head of forensic psychiatry services for Alberta said Wednesday.

Testifying as an expert witness, Dr. Kenneth Hashman said he created two separate reports on John Wayne Mock, 36, who is accused of shooting Timothy Mock in February 2012.

Hashman was the only witness to take the stand Wednesday in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench before Justice Kirk Sisson.

Hashman said John Mock showed symptoms of having bipolar disorder Type 1 and was manic with psychotic features during the incident.

He spent the day outlining how he reached these conclusions through interviews with John Mock, looking at police interviews, interviewing collateral witnesses about John Mock and previous hospital records.

The accused had previously been admitted to the Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury in Ponoka in 2000.

Hashman testified that leading up to the incident, John Mock had begun believing people around him were clones. He had also recently acquired a cellphone and he believed he was being spied on by the FBI or CIA through his phone. He also believed he had a special power when he played games on the cellphone.

These beliefs feed into the belief that John Mock was in a manic state with psychotic features, testified Hashman.

The night of the incident, Hashman said John Mock heard a noise in the compound of the Mock ranch, thinking it was a government entity spying on him he went into the yard and fired a shot with his revolver.

After coming back into the house he got into an argument with his brother Timothy and while their arguments were always verbal, this time Timothy hit John.

John Mock believed it must have been a clone that hit him because his brother didn’t hit him.

Hashman testified that at this point Mock said something tapped into him and made him shoot his brother.

Hashman cited an extensive family history of mental disorder, which would give John Mock a genetic pre-disposition to mental disorders.

As well John Mock had a previous episode of being in a manic state with psychotic features.

Leading up to being admitted to the Centennial Centre in Ponoka in 2000, John Mock had believed he was a gargoyle, God and the terminator and that he could control things around him when he touched or moved his glasses. He was diagnosed with mania with psychotic features at that time. He was given medication, but did not stay with it.

Twice Hashman came to the conclusion that while John Mock was fit to stand trial, there were medical grounds for him to be declared not criminally responsible for his actions.

Hashman also disputed the potential of a toxic psychosis state and drugs and alcohol causing John Mock’s mental state at the time of the murder. While John Mock had been self medicating with marijuana and alcohol at the time, Hashman said the effects of the drugs were short-lived and the manic state with psychotic features lasted longer and was evident in the months before and after the incident.

Hashman said that when John Mock was running around his property naked after the shooting, his actions were that of a person in a manic state with psychotic features. A rebuttal witness will testify next week. Hashman’s is scheduled to return to Red Deer for cross-examination on Monday.

One juror was discharged from his duties Wednesday after it was discovered he was not a Canadian citizen. The trial will continue with 11 jurors and resumes on Friday.

mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com