TULSA, Okla. — A judge on Wednesday ordered a man to stand trial for allegedly opening fire in a crowded Tulsa plaza earlier this year and wounding a sheriff's deputy and a bystander.
A jury found Andrew Dennehy mentally competent to stand trial on shooting with the intent to kill and firearms charges. His parents say he's paranoid schizophrenic and his attorney says Dennehy is plagued by bizarre thoughts and delusions, but prosecutors say he is bluffing and understands the charges against him.
Dennehy, 24, was shackled and wearing a prison jumpsuit at Wednesday's hearing. He appeared to have lost weight since his competency hearing in August.
Prosecutors say Dennehy wandered barefoot into the plaza between the Tulsa County courthouse and Tulsa Central Library on the afternoon of March 7 and fired a handgun into the air, sending people fleeing in panic.
On Wednesday, three sheriff's deputies who responded to the call of shots fired described the chaotic scene when they first approached Dennehy, who they say did not respond to their commands to lay down his weapon.
The deputies testified that they yelled at Dennehy to drop his gun, and that he wheeled around brandishing a shiny revolver and got off one shot in the direction of the deputies.
"I realized I was hit. I yelled, 'I'm hit, I'm hit'" said Deputy David Fortenberry, who had been shot in the hands while holding his own weapon. "I was in fear for my life."
Fortenberry said he remembered dropping to his knees, bleeding and in pain, and somehow managing to re-holster his gun.
Fellow deputy Stephen Culley, who heard Fortenberry's cry for help, and the third deputy returned fire, shooting Dennehy and causing him to slump to the ground.
"I was extremely terrified," Culley testified Wednesday. "I was hoping my vest was going to perform well that day."
Dennehy's attorney, Allen Smallwood, questioned the deputies' qualifications during the hearing, including asking about their firearms training and their eyesight.
Smallwood asked Culley if he thought it was unusual that Dennehy was milling about the plaza wearing a T-shirt and barefoot; the deputy indicated that he didn't.
After the judge bound Dennehy over for trial, prosecutor Doug Dry praised the quick-thinking of the deputies.
"Just impressive," he said. "Tremendously brave."
Dennehy's parents have said their son is paranoid schizophrenic and should be treated in a hospital, not sent to prison.
At a competency hearing in August, Smallwood told jurors that Dennehy thought he was being followed by members of a secret society that was conspiring to wage war on true Christians. He also believed the group was going to kill Christians in vast caverns under Denver International Airport, Smallwood told jurors.
Prosecutors contend that Dennehy understood the charges against him and was bluffing about his alleged hallucinations, and jurors agreed, finding Dennehy mentally fit to face the charges.
Dennehy was brought in for Wednesday's hearing in shackles and wearing orange jail scrubs. He had a buzz cut and beard and appeared to have lost a lot of weight since the August hearing.
While the deputies testified about the shooting, Dennehy kept his head down and hardly made eye contact with anyone in the courtroom.