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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
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Steroidkiller Johnston
Steroidkiller schiet beste vriend door hoofd (AP January 25, 2005) Steroidkiller gooit het op insanity (AP April 03, 2006) Steroidkiller wilde bij de politie (The Republican April 11, 2006) Steroidkiller was volkomen de weg kwijt (Berkshire Eagle Thursday, April 13) Steroidkiller liep jarenlang psychotisch rond (The Republican April 14, 2006) Steroidkiller dacht dat zijn vriend hem had laten verkrachten (The Republican April 15, 2006) Het waren de anabolen, zegt de psychiater (Berkshire Eagle April 22 2006)
2 6 - 0 1 - 2 0 0 5 Westfield man pleads innocent in friend's slaying
AP
NORTHAMPTON, Mass.— A Westfield man pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges that he killed a University of Massachusetts student who was his high school friend.
Bryan Johnston, 23, was arraigned in Hampshire Superior Court on charges of murder, armed burglary, using a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a large-capacity firearm. [ErGs] [ErGs]
Prosecutor Renee Steese said Johnston went to David Sullivan's off-campus Amherst apartment and fired six shots into Sullivan's side with a .223-caliber rifle as the 22-year-old student worked on his computer. The body was found shortly after midnight on Dec. 7.
Johnston had called Sullivan, a friend since their days at Wahconah Regional High School in Dalton, at about 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 6, Steese said. A girlfriend later told police that Sullivan seemed to be agitated after the telephone call, the prosecutor said.
Two days after Sullivan's body was found, police found a .223-caliber rifle believed to be the murder weapon in a field near the Connecticut River in Hadley. Steese said police also found a 40-clip .223-caliber magazine near the river. It contained 19 rounds, and one more round was found in a tree stump nearby. Those bullets matched six shell casings found in Sullivan's apartment, she said.
Steese said Johnston had a history of mental illness and drug use, including steroids.
Johnston's parents called Westfield police several hours after Sullivan died to report that their son had been acting erratically and had been taken to Noble Hospital. Steese said his parents told the hospital their son said he had shot someone.
Johnston was found competent to stand trial following a court-ordered examination last month, but was then briefly committed to Bridgewater State Hospital because he was considered potentially suicidal.
He is being held without bail at the Hampshire Jail and House of Correction.
The case was continued until April 6.
0 4 - 0 4 - 2 0 0 6 Former Westfield State student plans insanity defense
By ADAM GORLICK NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- It was just after midnight when Bryan Johnston burst into David Sullivan's bedroom, aimed the laser site mounted on a .223-caliber rifle and blasted six shots into his friend's head and body while he worked on his computer. Lawyers for Johnston, who was a criminal justice major at Westfield State College when Sullivan was killed Dec. 7, 2004, aren't disputing Johnston killed the 22-year-old University of Massachusetts student in his Amherst apartment. But with testimony in Johnston's trial expected to begin Tuesday, his lawyers will try to convince a jury that he was insane and shouldn't be held responsible for the killing. If he's convicted of murder, Johnston, 24, automatically will be sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors have conceded Johnston has a history of mental illness and drug use, including steroids, but have not offered a motive for the killing. Johnston's lawyers would not say whether steroid use or withdrawal, which can cause violent symptoms commonly called "roid rage," will play a role in their defense. Prosecutor Renee Steese, who is trying the case, would not comment for this article. While insanity defenses are rare and largely unsuccessful _ legal observers say they're used in about 1 percent of all felony cases and result in acquittals about a quarter of the time _ Johnston's lawyers say they're pursuing their strongest strategy. "This isn't a situation where you look at the case and see what kind of defense to use," said Ed Berlin, one of Johnston's lawyers. "It is what it is." Johnston and Sullivan were childhood friends who graduated from Wahconah Regional High School in Dalton in 2000. On the night of Sullivan's slaying, Johnston had called his friend to go out but Sullivan turned him down, police have said. The two had fought earlier, but police have not said what they fought over. A few hours after Sullivan was killed, Johnston called his parents and admitted the shooting, according to police reports. His parents then called the police, who showed up at Johnston's apartment and had him committed for a psychiatric evaluation at Noble Hospital in Westfield. He pleaded innocent a day later to a murder charge during a hearing held at the hospital. Shortly after he was transferred to prison pending trial, Johnston became suicidal and was temporarily moved to a state psychiatric hospital in Bridgewater. Johnston's lawyers have not yet given details of Johnston's mental problems, but will now have to explain them to a jury. Lawyers and legal experts say jurors are skeptical of insanity defenses, especially when a defendant doesn't deny committing the offense he's charged with. "The first problem with an insanity defense is you're admitting what you did," said David Hoose, a Springfield defense attorney. "It's not a defense that's ever employed with relish. It's difficult to persuade jurors of a lack of criminal responsibility unless you have someone who meets the stereotype of mental illness." And even then, jurors are skeptical. In January, a Worcester Superior Court jury rejected an insanity defense used by Joseph Druce, who was convicted of killing the pedophile ex-priest John Geoghan in his prison cell. Despite abundant testimony about Druce's mental disorders and anecdotes about how he swallowed pencils, bits of wire and eyeglasses, jurors didn't accept the argument that he was insane. Michele Galietta, a professor of clinical psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said it's difficult to explain to a jury how someone who methodically plans a crime may not realize what he's doing is wrong. "People seem to have a hard time believing that someone who commits a crime can have a mental illness," she said. "There's a true lack of understanding of what it means to be insane." Johnston's trial is expected to take up to three weeks. 1 1 - 0 4 - 2 0 0 6 Police: Bullets found in apartment
NANCY H. GONTER NORTHAMPTON - Police officers testified yesterday that they found several ammunition clips in the Westfield apartment of Bryan R. Johnston the day after he was accused of murdering a University of Massachusetts student. The trial of Johnston, 24, formerly of 342 Southwick Road, Westfield, who has pleaded innocent to charges of murder, armed burglary and illegal possession of a large capacity firearm, is scheduled to continue this morning, after an abbreviated session yesterday. He is accused of killing University of Massachusetts student David E. Sullivan, 22, a native of Dalton, on the night of Dec. 6, 2004, in Sullivan's 105 Meadow St. apartment in Amherst. Although he has admitted to pulling the trigger, Johnston is pleading that he is not criminally responsible because he was mentally ill at the time. Amherst detective Lt. Ronald A. Young said that in a search of Johnston's apartment, a 90-round ammunition clip for a .223-caliber rifle, the kind used in the killing, was found. Also found were several other ammunition clips and a black fanny pack filled with anabolic steroids, needles and alcohol wipes. Westfield Police Chief John A. Camerota testified that he had suspended Johnston's license to carry a large capacity firearm on Nov. 22 after Johnston was arrested on gun charges in that city. At a meeting with him several days later, Johnston told the chief he hoped to get the license back because he hoped to have a career in law enforcement. 1 3 - 0 4 - 2 0 0 6 Defense paints paranoia picture
By Nicole Sequino
NORTHAMPTON — Jeremy C. Lebernoch was hanging out at a friend's house when Bryan R. Johnston, his buddy from Wahconah Regional High School in Dalton, came over and waived a handgun in his face. "He said, 'I have to kill you because I'm a captain in the IRA and it's my mission,' " Lebernoch said, referring to the Irish Republican Army. Fortunately for Lebernoch, he and another friend talked Johnston out of killing him that night in November 2004. That exchange occurred approximately a month before Johnston shot David C. Sullivan to death at his 105 Meadow St. apartment in Amherst with a .223-caliber Colt assault rifle. Lebernoch and several other friends testified in Hampshire Superior Court yesterday in the murder trial against Johnston, 24, a Dalton native. His attorney, Alexander Z. Nappan of Greenfield, is claiming that Johnston was mentally ill and paranoid at the time of the Dec. 7, 2004, shooting. Johnston and Sullivan, 22, a native of Washington town and a University of Massachusetts senior, had both graduated from Wahconah Regional in 2000 and shared the same group of friends. According to his friends, Johnston was becoming increasingly paranoid in the months leading up to Sullivan's death. They also testified that Johnston often talked about the CIA, gangs and mobsters that were reportedly threatening him, and that he began toting guns around, even firing them off on some occasions. Nappan began his case after the prosecution rested yesterday morning. First Assistant District Attorney Renee L. Steese has argued that Johnston was cruel and deliberate in slaying Sullivan, and that the two former friends had grown apart. Under her questioning of Johnston's friends, Steese also argued that his behavior was the result of his heavy drinking and use of steroids. Lebernoch, 24, a native of Hinsdale, said Johnston threatened to kill him after another troublesome incident. A week before, Lebernoch said he and Johnston had been drinking at a Westfield bar until around 3 a.m. They went back to sleep at Johnston's apartment in Westfield, where Johnston was living while attending Westfield State College for criminal justice. By early morning, Lebernoch said he was asleep on Johnston's couch when Johnston jumped on top of him and started trying to take his red T-shirt off. "He was saying that I was in the 'Bloods' and that I couldn't wear that shirt in his house," Lebernoch told Nappan. Johnston was also insisting that Lebernoch was sending gang members after him, Lebernoch said. Eventually, Lebernoch said he calmed Johnston down and they went back to sleep. A week later, Lebernoch said he was visiting his friend, Evan Donovan, at his house. Johnston came over after 9 p.m. with a handgun in his hand and a smaller gun in an ankle brace. Johnston claimed that he had to kill Lebernoch because he had sent members of the Bloods after him while he was working as a security officer at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, according to Lebernoch. Lebernoch said he and Donovan talked Johnston out of harming him, noting that he was one of Johnston's best friends. "He said that he was going to talk to his bosses and see what he could do," Lebernoch added. Three days later, Lebernoch said he went to a shooting range with Johnston. Under Steese's questioning, Lebernoch noted that Johnston had consumed between six or seven beers by then. Lebernoch also admitted that he has remained friends with Johnston and that he believed his friend needs psychiatric help and not time behind bars. "I believe that the mental issue should be taken care of, and he should be hospitalized," Lebernoch told Steese. Steese questioned Lebernoch whether he was qualified as a mental health profession to make that determination. Lebernoch also described another occasion when he and Johnston went out to a bar another night. Johnston challenged two men inside the bar to a fight, and followed them outside, Lebernoch said. He then moved his shirt in such a way that he revealed the handgun tucked inside his waistband, Lebernoch said. More troubling behavior Others described similar incidents with Johnston. His supervisor at Baystate Medical Center, Ronald Condino, 33, said that several security officers went out for drinks on Oct. 2, 2004. Johnston arrived at the bar 15 to 20 minutes afterwards, still wearing his uniform, and Condino asked him to remove his shirt because it was inappropriate. After closing up the bar at 2 a.m., the group went to a diner nearby. Condino was outside with Johnston and lighting up a cigarette when he heard a loud bang. He turned around and saw Johnston slip what appeared to be a silver handgun into his jacket. "He just looked at me and said, 'I'm not CIA, man,' " Condino said. Others came outside of the diner to see what had happened, but Condino did not reveal that Johnston had shot off his gun. Instead, he went back inside to pay for the meal and waited for a chance to speak with Johnston alone. Condino said Johnston made no sense. "He said, 'Dude, I know you're in the mafia and I know all about your crime,' " Condino said. Johnston then clenched his fists, grew agitated and mumbled something angrily, which Condino believed was, "I didn't rape that girl." He then patted Condino on the back, telling him that he was "a good guy, a good supervisor" and that he just wanted Condino to know that "It was never on between us." Concerned over Johnston's behavior, Condino said he called him the next morning and told Johnston that his actions scared him. Johnston apologized and blamed the incident on his drinking, but Condino later suggested that he seek counseling. Two other friends, Matt Riley and Justin Bond, also testified that Johnston frequently carried a handgun and even waived it around at times. Riley, who had lived at 105 Meadow St. with Sullivan, said Johnston would drink upwards of 10 beers during their house parties. When he was intoxicated, Johnston would start talking about the FBI or CIA or that the mafia was going to kill him, Riley said. Bond also said that Johnston's "reckless behavior" caused him and other friends to disassociate with him, including Sullivan. 1 4 - 0 4 - 2 0 0 6 Defense cites slay suspect's mental woes
April 14, 2006 NORTHAMPTON - Bryan R. Johnston told his sister that he had to keep the curtains in his 27th-floor Hawaii apartment drawn because FBI agents were rappelling down the building and watching him. "He wouldn't let me answer the phone and he wouldn't answer the phone because he said they were tapped. He thought the next door neighbor was looking in at him through the walls. And he said the pizza place downstairs was run by the Mafia," Kimberly Johnston, 32, now of Atlanta, testified yesterday in Hampshire Superior Court. Kimberly Johnston said that despite several years working as a psychiatric nurse, she was uncertain that her brother, who is now on trial on a charge of murder, was suffering from a psychological problem. "From what he was telling me, the way he made it sound, it was so real. Nothing made me know for a fact at the time that this was a psychological problem," Kimberly Johnston said. Bryan Johnston, 24, a native of Dalton, is accused of killing a childhood friend, David E. Sullivan, 22, in Sullivan's 105 Meadow St. apartment in Amherst in December 2004. Johnston's lawyer, Alexander Z. Nappan, is presenting witnesses attempting to prove that Johnston was insane at the time of the killing. Also testifying yesterday was Carol Feldman, a forensic psychologist from Boston retained by the defense who spent more than seven hours interviewing Johnston and read police and other reports about the killing. She testified that when Johnston killed Sullivan, he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and could not appreciate when he did was wrong. Feldman also testified about a series of what she said were delusions Johnston suffered from that started when he left home after graduation from Wahconah Regional High School and went to Hawaii to attend college. "Bryan believed at some time, in Hawaii, he saw something he shouldn't have seen and as a result, the mob was after him," Feldman told the jury. Johnston also reported to her that a man who used medication from a veterinarian to drug him raped him in his apartment. "He also reported hearing the voices of his mother and sister (in his Hawaii apartment) and one of them was crying," she said. Johnston also told her how he fled Hawaii, leaving all his possessions behind, because he was afraid Mafia members were going to kill him, Feldman said. "Mr. Johnston was livid. His face was almost purple. He told this story about this precipitous leaving with a great deal of emotional intensity. He was sharply aroused. He was floridly psychotic when he told me that," she said. Feldman said she also learned that both Johnston's parents have family members who have schizophrenia. Because of an objection from First Assistant District Attorney Renee L. Steese, Feldman was cut short in testifying further. In addition, Feldman said that growing up in Dalton, Bryan Johnston and his father, Bruce Johnston, used to go target shooting and that the father put padding in the attic of the family home so they could shoot targets there. "He (Bruce Johnston) told me Bryan couldn't shoot anything that was alive," Feldman said. Bryan Johnston told Feldman that after he returned to Western Massachusetts in 2002, he drank beer, used cocaine and took steroids not to develop larger muscles, but because he believed it was a way he could protect his family and himself. 1 5 - 0 4 - 2 0 0 6 Jurors shown Johnston tape
By FRED CONTRADA NORTHAMPTON - Jurors in the Bryan R. Johnston murder trial viewed a videotape yesterday of the defendant describing his telephone conversation with David E. Sullivan just hours before he shot Sullivan to death. The interview with forensic psychologist Carol Feldman took place at the Hampshire County House of Correction while Johnston was in custody after being arrested for Sullivan's murder. Johnston, 24, has admitted shooting his former Waconah High School classmate to death at Sullivan's Amherst apartment on Dec. 6, 2004, but is pleading that he is not criminally responsible because he was insane at the time of the shooting. Feldman, who is a witness for the defense, testified that Sullivan became the focus of Johnston's psychotic delusions. In the interview, Johnston refers to an alleged incident in Albany two years prior to the shooting in which he claims Sullivan was trying to kill him and that someone put a camera in his shower. Johnston said when he had asked Sullivan what was going on, Sullivan said, "Someday I'll tell you." Johnston said he was trying to follow up on that conversation when he telephoned Sullivan, a University of Massachusetts student, on Dec. 6. "I was trying to be friendly," he told Feldman. "(Sullivan) seem pissed. I felt like I didn't have the right to call him." Feldman testified that Johnston told her he felt "an uncontrollable rage like he had never felt before" after speaking with Sullivan. About two hours after the phone call, Johnston went to Sullivan's Meadow Street apartment and shot him several times at close range. Northwestern First Assistant District Attorney Renee L. Steese played the videotape during her cross-examination of Feldman, which began on Thursday and was continuing when court adjourned at 1 p.m. yesterday. Steese questioned Feldman extensively about how she weighed Johnston's drug use in making her determination that he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Various witnesses have testified that Johnston ingested a wide range of drugs, including alcohol, cocaine, Ecstasy, hallucinogenic mushrooms and steroids. Feldman said Johnston told her he stopped taking drugs while he was living in Hawaii in 2002 after an experience in which he claims that he was raped. Johnston said Sullivan told him, "We paid to have you raped," according to testimony at the trial. Steese asked Feldman if she was familiar with cocaine-induced psychosis, which can appear similar to paranoid schizophrenia, and grilled the psychologist about whether Johnston resumed his drug use after returning from Hawaii. "You had no way of knowing how much cocaine he used," Steese said. Feldman acknowledged that it was "a mistake" not to question Johnston about his drug use after Hawaii, but repeated her contention that he is mentally ill. The trial is scheduled to continue on Tuesday. 2 2 - 0 4 - 2 0 0 6 Steroids blamed in Johnston case
By Nicole Sequino NORTHAMPTON — A forensic psychiatrist for the prosecution testified yesterday that Bryan R. Johnston, a Dalton native accused of shooting his former friend to death, was not suffering from a paranoid delusional disorder but was instead exhibiting symptoms of steroid use.
Dr. Michael Welner, Instead, Welner claimed that Johnston displayed the behavior of irritability, irrational thought, agitation, aggressiveness and paranoia from the use of anabolic steroids. |
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