marine corps museum

2010 Pentagon Shooter Deemed Schizophrenic

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The ex-Marine who fired shots at the Pentagon and Marine Corps museum in 2010 has been classified as schizophrenic by government doctors, but prosecutors still want to enforce a plea deal that requires a 25-year prison sentence.

Twenty-five-year-old Yonathan Melaku (meh-LAH-koo) of Alexandria pleaded guilty last year to firing shots at several military-related targets. No one was injured. He was caught months later, only after he was discovered trying to desecrate graves in Arlington National Cemetery.

He struck a plea deal last year requiring a 25-year prison sentence. After making the plea bargain, his family hired new attorneys who questioned Melaku’s mental health.

In court filings Friday, federal prosecutors in Alexandria said Melaku has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. They want him to serve his sentence in a prison hospital.

2013/01/04