Dr. Robert Soper
Doctor gives view on sane verdict in Applegate case
Man set to be sentenced for murder in Bridgeville
Dr. Robert Soper, the psychiatrist who was a prosecution witness in the sanity phase of the Thomas Applegate trial, described Applegate as being “on the run” when he walked into a Bridgeville home high on methamphetamine and shot two men, killing one.
Thomas Applegate
A jury found Applegate was sane at the time he killed Joey Patrick Church in May 2003. Another man was wounded. The same jury found Applegate guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder. His sentencing is set for Tuesday.
Soper talked to Applegate on two different occasions, but well after he was arrested for assaulting a woman in Southern California just days after the killing. Soper said Applegate was on meth for about two weeks when he drove from Southern California believing he was going to buy Bridgeville.
Soper learned that Applegate had been using controlled substances and alcohol since he was a young teenager. He used methamphetamine for about 15 years, stopped for eight years, and recently, just months before the killing, started again, Soper said.
Feeling lethargic and depressed may have led him to use meth again, Soper said.
”Amphetamines, in the short run, would help with his depression,” Soper said.
“In essence, he was self medicating.”
Applegate's attorney, Kevin Robinson, declined to comment on Soper's comments, saying they “exceed areas of his testimony at trial.”
Soper listed the possible effects Applegate may have been experiencing: Enhanced energy, enhanced concentration, improved mood, euphoria, talking fast, erratic train of thought and grandiose beliefs.
”He was going up to Bridgeville to buy Bridgeville,” Soper said. “That's grandiose.”
A methamphetamine-induced psychosis is very similar to schizophrenia psychosis or mania, Soper said.
Applegate was hearing things and because he can't remember the incident, exactly what may have sent him into a homicidal mode is unknown.
”It's crazy because he had no motive to shoot these people,” Soper said.
But, Applegate wasn't insane at the time of the killings, Soper said.
He claims not to remember anything about the shootings. But, according to Soper, there are some signs that he understood he was doing something wrong.
For instance, when Applegate entered the home, he made the children go into another room before shooting the two men.
”It shows there's some awareness of what he was doing was wrong and it was something kids should not see,” Soper said.
Other signs are that he returned the gun, which he took from his parents' house, and he attempted to hide the weapon's cartridges in the couch of an acquaintance.
”It is my experience that most people who are using meth, like alcoholics, do not understand how much their behavior has changed,” Soper said. “It's a tragedy for everyone involved.”
The awareness of the damage meth does to people, families and communities is on the rise, not just in Humboldt County, but nationwide.
Mike Goldsby, program manager for health education for the Department of Health and Human Services, said meth has been a problem since about the late 80s in Humboldt County.
”When a drug has been prevalent for a lot of years you begin to see multi-generational effects,” Goldsby said.
And the problems add up.
”The problems caused by meth are out of proportion to the number of people who use,” Goldsby said.
He explained that by saying meth users tend to get into more kinds of trouble and need more kinds of services, from health to social services, than other drug users, and that adds to the toll the drug takes on a community.
Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith, part of the Speed Prevention and Awareness Network, said he's beginning to see a results from numerous efforts.
”We think we're making a difference with the youth we're doing outreach with,” Smith said.
But, he recognizes there's a lot of work left to rid the area of the drug.
”We're hitting it every which way we can,” Smith said.
Chris Durant The Times-Standard Article Launched: 08/20/2007 09:13:54 AM PDT
Chris Durant can be reached at 441-0506 of at cdurant at times-standard.com .
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