July 11, 2003 Man Cleared, Claims Tea Drove Him Crazy By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) -- Criminal charges were dropped against a man whose defense lawyer claimed that drinking jasmine tea made him temporarily insane before he smashed his way into a neighbor's house and chased the woman with a dagger.
Police said they found a wild-eyed Gilbert Walker, 43, outside the house in nearby Callaway yelling ``I'm crazy'' after he had broken a glass door with a brass duck. The neighbor ran screaming down the street until a motorist stopped and gave her a ride to a store where she called police.
The judge dismissed aggravated assault and burglary charges Wednesday after receiving reports from three court-appointed psychologists. They agreed that Walker suffered from psychosis but offered no opinion on what caused it, Alton Paulk of the state attorney's office said Friday.
Jasmine is an herb commonly taken to calm the stomach but is also used as a love potion in satanic and cult rituals, defense lawyer Mike Hunter said.
Prosecutor Mark Graham said the psychologists' findings made him willing to accept dismissal of the charges. One doctor wrote that the psychotic episode last December was isolated and Walker should have no lasting problems.
Walker, a software designer and engineer for a government contractor, declined comment.
Hunter said a forensic toxicologist told him that certain jasmines can be hallucinogenic.
``It depends on what you use and what you mix it with,'' Hunter said.
Walker's former girlfriend gave him the tea to settle his stomach, but didn't warn him to limit his intake and he consumed up to 10 cups daily, Hunter said.
Prosecutors likened the tea theory to the ``twinkie defense'' used by former San Francisco Supervisor Dan White, who was charged with killing the city's mayor and another supervisor in 1978. He avoided a first-degree murder charge and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after his lawyers convinced jurors that eating junk food had diminished White's mental capacity.
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