Man arrested for Mercy lockdown pleads not guilty, public defender asks for ‘fitness evaluation’

FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The man arrested in connection with a lockdown at Mercy Hospital Fort Smith on July 22 has pleaded not guilty, according to court documents.

John West, 34, was booked in the Sebastian County Detention Center on July 22 on commercial burglary, felony theft, and impairing the operation of a vital public facility charges.

West’s public defender filed a motion for fitness to proceed after he was arraigned by video on Wednesday. He reportedly “muttered and grumbled throughout the proceeding,” according to the filing.

The filing also said West interrupted the judge and attorneys by “repeating the same words and speaking nonsensically.”

West’s mother said he was involuntarily committed twice in Louisiana and is on multiple medications that are commonly used to treat psychiatric conditions. When he does not take them he “frequently experiences paranoid fits where he believes people are out to kill him,” his mother said in the filing.

His public defender ordered an evaluation of his mental capacity to proceed with the case.

West has also been ordered to have no contact with the physician and has been banned from all Mercy properties in Sebastian County.

A news release from the Fort Smith Police Departmen t said West was found in a box in the corner of an education classroom at Mercy Hospital by multiple search teams from local, state and federal agencies after a more than three-hour-long search.

West reportedly pointed a water pistol that was painted black to look like a firearm at a security guard after he was confronted at the hospital.

Police said that West was in possession of a physician’s laptop and tablet.

During his arraignment, West’s bond was set for $50,000. His trial date has been set for December 9.

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