Elk Grove native plans insanity defense in Oklahoma
TULSA, Okla. — An Elk Grove Village native accused of plotting to bomb dozens of northeast Oklahoma churches will mount an insanity defense, according to documents filed this week in federal court.
In a court filing Wednesday, Assistant Federal Public Defender Stephen Greubel gave notice that he plans to claim Gregory Weiler II was insane at the time of the alleged plot.
Weiler was ruled mentally incompetent on April 3 and was committed to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility for evaluation and treatment. The Tulsa World reported Thursday that Weiler is in custody at a federal facility in Butner, N.C.
Greubel notified the court of his intention “to introduce expert evidence relating to a mental disease or defect or other mental condition bearing on the issue of guilt.”
Prosecutors accused Weiler of plotting to bomb 48 churches in Ottawa County, though no one was injured and no explosives were set off. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of possessing an unregistered, destructive device, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Greubel has said in previous court documents that his client has been diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder, and has been hospitalized numerous times over the past five years for mental health issues.
At the time the indictment was issued, Weiler had not taken prescribed medications for his conditions since 2010, Greubel wrote.
At a hearing in April, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Cyran indicated his office agreed with the judge’s decision finding Weiler temporarily incompetent to stand trial.
Investigators say they searched Weiler’s motel room in October after two apartment maintenance men found a duffel bag in a trash bin behind the motel that contained bomb-making materials, such as bottles and a gas can. Authorities say they discovered instructions on how to make Molotov cocktails and hand-drawn sketches of the targeted churches.