Marine veteran taken to hospital after SWAT standoff

Police ID man involved in SWAT standoff at Big I
Albuquerque Journal
By Nicole Perez
Journal Staff Writer

5:20 p.m. — A former Marine marksman with a history of post-traumatic stress disorder was identified by police as the man responsible for an eight-hour SWAT situation at the Big I Friday night.

Jason Kerns, 37, spent eight months in jail after pleading not guilty to shooting at a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office helicopter and seriously injuring the pilot in 2005, but the charges were dropped in 2006 when bullet casings from the crash site didn’t match Kerns’ rifle.

Kerns suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, a spinal cord injury and depression according to a 2006 Journal story.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Simon Drobik said Kerns was retrieved from the vehicle around 4 a.m. Saturday morning and didn’t say a word to police or his lawyer, so he was transported to the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation.

“There wasn’t even an interview,” Drobik said. “It’s out of our hands, they (the hospital) can keep him for 10 minutes or 10 days.”

Drobik said it’s standard practice to send suspects for a psychiatric evaluation when they don’t openly try to harm an officer or the public. Drobik said Kerns could still be charged in relation to the vehicle crash that sparked the situation, but currently faces no charges.
read more here