PHOENIX (AP) -A Phoenix judge delayed the sentencing for a man accused of planning to kill people at this year’s Super Bowl, saying Monday she wanted him to undergo a psychological evaluation first.
U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver said Kurt William Havelock’s behavior earlier this year was uncharacteristic for him and did not want to sentence him before seeing the results of an evaluation.
“(Havelock’s behavior) is shocking and there must be some type of psychological testing,” Silver said.
She asked the prosecution and defense to work together as quickly as possible to accomplish the testing, and set a court date for Sept. 15. If the testing is finished by then, Silver said she likely would be able to sentence Havelock. If not, the sentencing would be delayed again.
On the way out of the courtroom, a handcuffed Havelock waved to his family, who dabbed their eyes and sniffed during the hearing. His mother gave him the thumbs up before he went out the door.
“I am glad that she made the decision to do a psychological evaluation … because it was out of character for him,” said Havelock’s mother, Jan Havelock. “I’m just happy the judge is taking the time to set it right.”
Havelock was found guilty in June of six counts of mailing threatening communications.
Court documents say Havelock wanted to kill people at the Feb. 3 Super Bowl in Glendale and was armed when he reached a parking lot where pregame activities were being held.
Instead, Havelock called his parents, who persuaded him to turn himself in to police.
Havelock told the FBI he was angry over the Tempe City Council’s rejection of his liquor application for a restaurant he had recently opened.
In an eight-page manifesto he mailed to various media outlets Feb. 3, according to court documents, Havelock wrote:
“You have destroyed the futures of my children. So now, I will reciprocate in kind,” he wrote. “It will be swift and bloody … No one destroys my dream. No one.”
Outside the courtroom Monday, Havelock’s family members said he was bankrupt, about to lose his condo and car, and just went off the deep end. But, they said, Havelock never would have killed anyone.
Havelock faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced.
Neither prosecutor Michael Morrissey nor defense attorney Jeffrey Williams returned calls for comment Monday afternoon.
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On the Net:
U.S. District Court: http://www.azd.uscourts.gov/
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