Mar 23, 2006 7:17 pm US/Pacific
Local Authorities Knew About Bolivia Bomb Suspect
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
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AIZAR RALDES/AFP/Getty Images
The Northern California man arrested in Bolivia on suspicion of planting hotel bombs that killed two people has a history of legal and mental health problems going back to elementary school, court documents show.
Triston Jay Amero, 24, was in and out of psychiatric hospitals since he was 7 years old after making frequent threats to kill himself as well as doctors and law enforcement officials, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.
"Based on our experience with him, the new charges are not entirely surprising," Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe said on Thursday. "He is a very disturbed man, and given his past, I think he would be fully capable of doing this."
As a teenager, Amero was sentenced in October 1996 to three years and six months in California Youth Authority custody after being convicted of assault on a public official and battery for spitting on an El Dorado County juvenile court judge and court clerk, court documents show.
Amero, who had a prior conviction for leaving the scene of an accident, was later ordered to stay in juvenile prison until August 2001, though officials declined to say when he was released because Amero was incarcerated as a minor.
The documents were included in several appeals challenging his incarceration Amero filed in federal court in Sacramento.
While in custody at the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione in Amador County, Amero threatened staff and created hit lists of staff members and public officials he planned to kill when he was released, court documents show. Former President Bill Clinton was included on one such list.
He spent much of his time challenging his incarceration in court and detailed in notebooks that he planned to leave the country upon his release and either work at an oil refinery or start counterfeiting money to sabotage the U.S. economy, according to court papers.
He said he had no desire to return home and vowed to kill his mother and her family if he were placed in her custody, according to documents.
"Amero keeps to himself and appears to like to be seen as a rebel and outlaw," corrections officials wrote in 1999.
Amero's threats led authorities to conclude he was a danger to himself and others, Riebe said, declining to discuss specifics because the case involved a juvenile.
Rick Meyer, the chief public defender for El Dorado County who handled Amero's case, also declined to discuss specifics.
Amero's aunt, Paula Amero of Forest Ranch, said Thursday she felt he was unfairly incarcerated in California and testified for him at a parole hearing. They lost touch when he left the country several years ago and haven't spoken since, she said.
"He's been in and out of correctional facilities for a while, and a lot of it has been blown way out of proportion," she said. "He is a smart kid who had some problems not too different from other kids' problems, and he didn't need to be locked up."
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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