Document text
Gold Hill man faces murder charge, plans to plead insanity Tuesday Nov 21, 2006 at 2:00 AM Dec 19, 2010 at 1:42 AM SARAH LEMON,Mail Tribune A Gold Hill man with a history of mental illness is scheduled to face a judge today for the murder of his neighbor. Gary Patrick Hansen, 46, was suffering from schizophrenia when he was arrested on Dec., 12, 2004, and charged with killing 79-year-old Richard E. Clearwater, said Tim Barnack, deputy district attorney for Jackson County. Clearwater died of trauma to his head with a blunt object and a slash on his neck, Barnack said. Another of Clearwater's neighbors reported his possible disappearance to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department at about 8 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2004. Clearwater's body was pulled from the Rogue River near his home that evening, about three days after his death. Both Clearwater and Hansen lived in the 3000 block of Rogue River Highway. Hansen's trial has been postponed several times until he could be deemed "fit to proceed," according to Jackson County Circuit Court records. Hansen has spent several stints in the Oregon State Hospital in Salem since May. His attorney, Carl Caplan, has filed notice of Hansen's intent to rely on the defense of insanity. Caplan and Barnack agree on facts of the case and will present them today to Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Mejia, who is expected to find Hansen guilty but insane, Barnack said. The prosecutor added he will argue for Hansen's commitment to the custody of Oregon's Psychiatric Security Review Board. Mejia also will hear the facts in of Hansen's alleged assault on Jackson County Jail deputies on Jan. 29, 2005. Subduing the 6-foot-4-inch, 280-pound Hansen required eight deputies, including Sheriff Mike Winters. Hansen punched deputy Lee Eastwood in the eye upon returning to his cell following a scheduled visitation, Winters said. Hansen apparently has long suffered from mental illness, including delusions, Barnack said. Before his arrest, Hansen worked dispatching semitrailers, Barnack said. His previous criminal record includes arrests for felony and misdemeanor assaults, but those charges were dismissed, according to court records. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail .