Lawyer no longer wants new mental exam for bomb plot suspect

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – An attorney for a man accused of trying to detonate what he believed was an explosives-laden van outside an Oklahoma City bank has asked a federal judge to withdraw her request for a mental examination of the suspect.

Defense attorney Terri Coulter filed a motion Wednesday that says 23-year-old Jerry Drake Varnell has already been examined by an independent psychologist who found that Varnell is competent to be tried on a federal charge.

Coulter’s court filing says no additional psychological testing is needed at this time.

Varnell is charged with attempting to use explosives to destroy a building in interstate commerce. His family says he’s a paranoid schizophrenic who has been in numerous mental hospitals since he was 16 years old.