Benjamin Feltz, 2017 (Wood Co. Jail)
WISCONSIN RAPIDS (WTAQ-WLUK) — A man who admitted to drinking about “half a bottle” of floor cleaner before being naked in public, stealing an ambulance with a patient inside and leading police on an 18-mile chase added a plea Tuesday of not guilty by mental disease or defect.
Benjamin Feltz, 37, of Stevens Point, is charged with 10 counts, including first-degree recklessly endangering safety, lewd and lascivious behavior and his third offense of operating while intoxicated for the Feb. 17 incident.
With the entry of the so-called insanity plea, Wood County Judge Nicholas Brazeau ordered a psychiatric report to determine if there is a medical support for the plea, court records show.
If the case were to go to trial, a jury would first be asked to determine if Feltz is guilty of the charges. If he is, a second phase would determine if he suffered from a mental disease or defect which prevented from discerning right from wrong, and conforming his actions to societal standards. If the jury rejects the plea, he would face prison time. If it determines he did suffer from such a condition, he would be committed to a secure psychiatric facility.
According to the criminal complaint, just before 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17, Wisconsin Rapids police received a report of a naked man doing push-ups in public and screaming profanities at people nearby.
Soon after, two EMS workers tending to a patient said they heard the door to their ambulance close and saw a man in the driver’s seat matching witness descriptions of the naked man. They yelled at the man, ordering him to get out. One EMS worker got out of the back of the ambulance to try to stop the man. As the man started to drive away, the other EMS worker jumped out the back of the vehicle for his own safety.
The patient, a 50-year-old woman, later told police she yelled at the man that she was dying from kidney disease, but he never responded.
Law enforcement officials from multiple departments chased the ambulance, with speeds exceeding 90 mph. The complaint says the driver was “driving with utter disregard, swerving and causing other vehicles to stop.” Eventually, police were able to use a tire deflation device to cause the ambulance to go off the road into a muddy cornfield near Pittsville, where it became stuck.
After pulling Feltz from the ambulance, officers checked the status of the patient in the back. Details of her condition were not provided.
A breathalyzer test showed no alcohol in Feltz’s system. According to the complaint, he told police there may have been some “pot” in his system, but he was unsure when he had used it. He also admitted drinking Fabuloso floor cleaner sometime in the afternoon.
“He did not have a clear reason for doing this,” the complaint says. “He stated it was not in attempts to harm or kill himself.”
After the interview, Feltz allegedly made threats against officers.
Comments