Man Sent To Treatment
A man who brought potential explosives to a mental health clinic twice in the last six months will be sent to a mental hospital.
It will be John Weldon Jr.’s second commitment to a mental hospital. The first time, he walked away from the facility about a month after he had arrived, according to a Coeur d’Alene police report.
On Tuesday, a judge ordered that Weldon, 25, be rehospitalized after he was caught with materials that could have been used to create a pipe bomb.
The string of incidents began in October. Weldon walked into the W. George Moody Health Center on Ironwood Court, wearing a wig and bulletproof vest and carrying a handgun, according to Coeur d’Alene police.
Spokane bomb experts found six explosives and numerous handguns inside Weldon’s van in the parking lot. No one was injured and the bombs were safely detonated.
Because of Weldon’s mental illness, a judge committed him to the Department of Health and Welfare for up to three years. Weldon was then sent to the state mental hospital in Blackfoot.
Almost a month after he arrived, Weldon walked away from State Hospital South, according to a Coeur d’Alene police report.
Weldon was found a few days later in Coeur d’Alene, back at his counselor’s office in the Moody Health Building, according to the report. He was taken into custody and transported back to the hospital.
State Hospital South officials would not comment on the case or the alleged escape, citing privacy requirements in mental health cases.
“We have not had any problems with escapees,” insisted Othea Toland, the hospital’s acting administrative director.
She said the hospital is not a secure facility like a jail. Some mental patients are allowed to walk the hospital grounds or even go into town.
On about Feb. 23, Weldon was given a “conditional release” from the hospital and allowed to return to Coeur d’Alene.
Contrary to prior statements, Kootenai County Deputy Prosecutor Barry Black said he was notified of Weldon’s release.
Among the release requirements, Weldon “was not allowed to possess any materials that are necessary for building any kind of explosive device,” Black said.
But on March 14, Weldon arrived again at the health center to visit with a counselor. During the visit the counselor noticed what he thought were the makings of a pipe bomb in a bag of Weldon’s, according to police.
A piece of steel pipe and a quart of gunpowder were among the items, the report says.
“He indicated there was no intent to construct an explosive device,” Black said. “He wasn’t threatening anybody.”
But on Tuesday, a judge ordered that Weldon be rehospitalized for the offense. Department officials will decide which hospital Weldon will be sent to.