Psych evaluation of accused Iraqi War vet extended

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More time was granted to assess the mental competency of an Iraqi War veteran accused of trying to kill a Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle officer six months ago by ramming him repeatedly with a truck.

Philip Scott Newlyn, 28, of Elk Grove near Sacramento, appeared Wednesday in San Fernando Superior Court where his competency was reviewed.

He was then ordered to continue with a mental assessment for the next six months and return to court Aug. 2 for a “status update” on his continued assessment, Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told The Signal Thursday.

On Sept. 15, 2009, Newlyn was travelling with a convoy from a U.S. military base near Baghdad. An improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee.

Newlyn, who was himself injured, pulled the Humvee’s driver – rendered unconscious by the explosion – from the damaged vehicle. He was awarded a Purple Heart medal in 2009 after having pulled his fellow soldier from the burning Humvee.

Last August, Newlyn was arrested  for the attempt on the LAPD officer and later that month sent to the Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino for psychological assessment.

On the morning of Aug. 17, 2016, a veteran LAPD officer with 12 years of motorcycle experience was injured and taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital after being struck several times by a white full-size pickup truck, investigators said at the time.

Later that day CHP officers arrested former Air Force Staff Sergeant Philip Scott Newlyn.

Newlyn had returned to America from Iraq having survived an intense wartime experience.

Newlyn, who nearly lost his leg during an attack in Iraq, was given a hero’s welcome in December 2009, when he arrived in Sacramento from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

He had been serving a one-year tour in Iraq with the 9th Security Forces Squadron, which provides security for convoys, patrols and aircraft.

On Sept. 15, 2009, Newlyn was travelling with a convoy from a U.S. military base near Baghdad. An improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee.

Newlyn, who was himself injured, pulled the Humvee’s driver – rendered unconscious by the explosion – from the damaged vehicle.

 

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