Man sent for psychiatric exam after allegedly pointing gun at A.A. member in Cass City church
By Thomas Gilchrist
Published: Friday, October 07, 2011, 12:12 PM
CARO — A man accused of pointing a loaded revolver at another man at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting inside a Cass City Church will be examined to determine if he is mentally competent to stand trial.
John R. Dillon, 74, of Tuscola County’s Almer Township faces 10 criminal charges in connection with the Sept. 5 incident at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 6820 Main, in Cass City.
Dillon “put a gun in someone’s face and threatened to shoot him,” said Trooper Ruth Osborne of the Michigan State Police post at Caro.
Osborne alleges Dillon also pointed the gun at a man’s back before handing over the weapon to one of the A.A. group members.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the alleged victim was the same person in both incidents. Osborne said she didn’t know the motive for the alleged crimes. She said Cass City Police Department Officer Bill Hartzell had taken Dillon into custody when she arrived to assist at the scene.
Tuscola County District Judge Kim David Glaspie, on Sept. 19, ordered Dillon to undergo psychiatric examination to determine if he is mentally competent and criminally responsible.
No date has been set for a hearing on the evidence against Dillon, who is charged with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and if convicted of either charge, would face a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
He also is charged with four counts of possessing a firearm while committing a felony, a charge that carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison that must be served prior to any other prison time ordered for other convictions.
Dillon also is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a weapon with unlawful intent, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a controlled substance.
The Saginaw News could not reach Dillon’s lawyer, Caro attorney Timothy M. Turkelson, for comment.
Tuscola County Magistrate Joseph Van Auken set a $100,000 cash bond for Dillon, who hasn’t posted bond and remains in custody.
Good write-up. I absolutely appreciate this site.
Keep writing!
there are wackos every where, so why attack a great organization that has helped many people, and even if dangerous people come to the meetings, at least they might be trying to better them selves, instead of doing nothing. People choose to go to any meeting of AA that they want to., even if court ordered. It has helped many people, and a sponsor, is just a word used for someone trying to volunteer their ear and personal helpful experiences with another suffering alcoholic, they are not trained professionals doing wrong, they act as a friend. Why attack something that is good, what is the alternative,… nothing????????????????
Maybe because AA and NA are NOT great Organizations and co mingle violent felons with innocent children and vulnerable women.
There are many better alternatives like SMART Recovery
http://www.smartrecovery.com
SMART Recovery is NOT religious based but based on scientific
methods.
THIS WEBSITE COLLECTS AND COMPILES NEWS ARTICLES AND DOCUMENTS TO SHINE A LIGHT ON THE FACTS AND RAISE AWARENESS CONCERNING THE NON-ACCOUNTABLE, UNSAFE, DYSFUNCTIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE TWELVE-STEP ORGANIZATIONS AA/NA!
THE PUBLIC SAFETY RISK IS GROWING AT AN ALARMING RATE AS DRUG COURTS ARE LOOSENING THEIR STANDARDS AND MANDATING EVER HIGHER NUMBERS OF VIOLENT, MENTALLY UNSTABLE REPEAT OFFENDERS TO AA/NA FOR COURT COMPLIANCE.
PLEASE RESEARCH THESE NEWS ARTICLES BY LOOKING THROUGH THE
(MONTHLY ARCHIVES) AT THE UPPER LEFT-HAND SIDE OF THIS WEBSITE’S HOMEPAGE!
It’s time these groups assume some basic responsibility by implementing appropriate safety measures and procedures at their meetings!
This makes no sense! Large groups of mostly repeat offenders, some violent felons with untreated coexisting mental disorders who avoid jail by gathering at unqualified, unsupervised, non-accountable anonymous meetings with no security! DON’T BE FOOLED, LEARN THE FACTS!
Here is an article by a therapsit that speaks about the tragic fallout from AA members telling the mentally ill to not takes their meds. Even though AA’s official policy tells members not to play doctor, there is zero repercussions for sponsors and other AA or NA members from telling members at meetings to stop taking meds. So what good is an official policy when it is not enforced? Just like sexual abuse in AA, they look the other way and do nothing to stop AA sponsors from telling their sponsee’s from taking meds, often ending with fatal consequences.
Alcoholics Anonymous and Psychiatric Medications
Throughout the years I’ve agonized when working with dual diagnosis clients who attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or any of their sister programs. Too often there are well-meaning people in the groups who take it upon themselves to give psychological or medical advice. All too often, this results in tremendous damage. One of the major offenders is the idea that any member of AA, CA or NA who is taking psychiatric medications is not “clean and sober”. Not only is this bad advice it’s not the official policy of AA.
But let me start with an example. A picture really is worth 1000 words.
Imagine working with a client who is struggling with Paranoid Schizophrenia. He finally, with the help of a good doctor and appropriate medication, takes back his mind – and his life. He comes into the office, smiles and converses with administrative staff. He describes going out with friends and enjoying his life again. Then he goes to an AA meeting. Someone there tells him that taking psychiatric medications is a “crutch” and he is not “clean and sober”. He takes this to heart and stops his medications. He immediately decompensates and becomes paranoid, reclusive, combative and miserable.
Entire article
http://www.kellevision.com/kellevision/2010/09/alcoholics-anonymous-and-psychiatric-medications.html
I am so glad that no one was hurt! It’s time to face the facts about safety and probation/parole compliance sessions. Ever greater numbers of people are being released on probation and parole due to our overcrowded jails and prisons. The majority of these people are sent to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous even though their crimes are often far more violent and disturbing than simply drinking and taking drugs!
Does anybody think that while these people were incarcerated that they would have been allowed to gather anonymously in large groups totally unsupervised?Of course not! Why then does it make any sense to have them comply with their terms of release, to avoid jail time by “converging, unsupervised in large numbers” in parks by playgrounds etc. out in public?
What’s beyond comprehension is that these “compliance sessions” are run by, “self described, unprofessional anonymous groups”, with no real counselors or any security personnel or surveillance present at meetings to monitor what happens ! As you can see from this and other articles, a few of which are posted on this website to raise awareness, ALL KINDS OF THINGS ARE HAPPENING.
Citizens in our area have called the police to report intimidation and even death threats from members of these groups. When police arrive the people who sponsor and facilitate the meetings plead anonymity and refuse to cooperate with any investigations.CLICK ON THE “RUDE AWAKENING” story on the header of this site’s homepage for a first-hand experience with this!
These unsupervised, non-accountable anonymous groups who organize their meetings in our park/ playground do so to avoid paying for room even though they collect money from attendees in the park which traditionally is used to pay for an appropriate meeting place.
We found out, through much investigation, that these organization’s headquarters will allow all kinds of blatant dysfunction to run rampant and refuse to take any responsibility, no matter what. Apparently there is no amount of dysfunction that one of these groups can be involved with to cause it to lose its legitimacy as a “valid parole/probation compliance group.”
WHAT ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY? TO CHECK OUT SOME SAFE, EFFECTIVE RECOVERY ALTERNATIVES CLICK ON THE LINKS UNDER “12 STEP ALTERNATIVES ON” THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE HOMEPAGE ON THIS WEBSITE ! !