Judge orders mental exam

Wed., March 9, 2011

Associated Press

A District Court judge has ordered a mental health examination for a man charged with attacking four Bayview residents with a hammer, killing one of them.

First District Judge Benjamin Simpson last week ordered the state to examine 31-year-old Larry W. Cragun to determine his ability to understand the charges and assist with his defense, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported.

Cragun is charged with walking into his neighbors’ mobile home on Dec. 19 and attacking four people. Cragun is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 43-year-old Patricia Heath, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and four other felonies.

Before the attack, Cragun was spotted putting up fliers suggesting there was an umbrella submerged in Lake Pend Oreille that, along with GPS tracking satellites, somehow allowed the government to read peoples’ minds.

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