But Samuel Peyrot will stay in jail for now, following a hearing Friday.Ìý
Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender Amanda Baskin had asked the judge to consider reducing his bond or to allow Community Corrections to screen him for the possibility of supervised release while awaiting a hearing in January to determine if he's a danger to himself or others.
Lancaster County District Judge Darla Ideus overruled both requests.Ìý
At a bench trial last month, Baskin offered a 14-page insanity evaluation, where Dr. Matthew Huss said in his opinion Peyrot met the standard for an insanity defense because he didn't know or understand the nature and consequences of his actions or the difference between right and wrong at the time due to mental illness.
Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Eric Miller didn't dispute Huss' findings, and Lancaster County District Judge Darla Ideus found Peyrot not responsible by reason of insanity a day later.
Baskin said Peyrot had been working an extreme amount of hours clearing snow leading up to the incident Jan. 14. Sleep deprivation, prescription medication and his underlying mental health issues created a "perfect storm ... of factors that led to this pretty scary and unfortunate incident that I know terrorized people in the community. And Mr. Peyrot is so incredibly sorry about that," she said.Ìý
In the early hours of Jan. 14, hours before the incident, Peyrot's significant other called 911, saying he needed medical attention. He was taken by ambulance to Bryan Health, but was discharged a couple of hours later, around 4 a.m. acting the same way.
"He was treated by Bryan Health as if he was high on meth and he continued to be treated that way through the entirety of this investigation," Baskin said. "And that simply wasn't true."
Toxicology reports confirmed that he'd only taken his prescribed drugs.
Miller, the prosecutor, said he couldn't think of ever having a situation where the judge has found someone not responsible by reason of insanity and held a bond review before a hearing to determine dangerousness.
"Because the next step of this is for the court to determine whether or not there's probable cause that he is dangerous and determine what to do," he said.
Miller said he thinks the judge ultimately will determine that an evaluation needs to be done here, whether out-patient or in-patient.
"This was a very, very, very dangerous situation," he said.Ìý
Miller said despite Huss' opinion that Peyrot no longer is dangerous, he disagrees.Ìý
Miller said on Jan. 14 Peyrot used a skid loader to crash into vehicles, including a police cruiser, and officers had to draw their weapons and almost kill him to stop him.
"That's dangerous behavior, judge. And I don't think it's appropriate nor is it responsible to just release him out into the public without any controls," he said.
Peyrot, 36, had been charged with seven felonies — second-degree assault on an officer, second-degree assault and five counts criminal mischief — for the incident, captured in store security footage and on cellphone videos that went viral.
Police say Peyrot unloaded his employer's Bobcat at the U-Stop near 73rd Street and Pine Lake Road, knocked down a clothing donation box, then struck his employer's pickup.
He continued on to the nearby Taco Bell, ramming four vehicles, before going to the Home Depot, where he crashed into more vehicles, including one with a driver inside, an ATM and the doors of The Still.
Peyrot ultimately rammed a responding officer's cruiser several times with the officer inside. The officer got out and held Peyrot at gunpoint as more officers arrived and arrested him.
Police initially suspected Peyrot was under the influence of drugs, "due to his erratic behavior and nonsensical statements," according to court records.
A still from a video shot by a bystander shows the moment before a skid loader rammed into a Lincoln police cruiser outside the Home Depot at 70th Street and Nebraska Parkway in January.