JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Just six months ago, David Jungerman was seeking an accelerated trial date and complaining he was wasting much of what remains of his life in jail.

Now, though, with his Feb. 25 trial date much closer than it was then, Jungerman seems to have changed his tune.

Four days before Christmas, his attorney filed a motion asking for a mental competency determination from the Missouri Division of Mental Health.

Specifically, the motion seeks a determination as to “whether the defendant has the capacity to understand the proceedings against him or to assist in his own defense” and “an opinion as to whether the defendant has a mental disease or defect and the duration thereof.”

We could see this coming, couldn’t we?

Jungerman

The way this dangerous old man has conducted himself the last 30 years stands as strong evidence that he is an irrational person who flagrantly flouts not only societal norms but also the law. Consider that he has…

— shot at least three people encroaching on his northeast Kansas City business

— fired a warning shot at a man he believed had stolen pipe from his property

— held several teenagers at gunpoint after he caught them on his property in Raytown

And, finally, since March he has stood charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Kansas City lawyer Thomas Pickert, who had won a big civil award for one of the prowlers Jungerman had shot.

…You’ll note I said Jungerman is irrational. That’s not to say he is suffers from a mental disease or that he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

I believe in each instance he knew exactly what he was doing. His problem is he believes that if someone — anyone — does anything he views as a threat to his money or his property, he’s entitled to go into offensive mode, locked and loaded.

He told me so himself, after a court hearing in an unrelated case earlier this year. Outside the courthouse in Nevada, MO, he said he firmly believed in “the castle doctrine,” which he succinctly described this way: “You come in my house, I’m going to blow your ass away.”

Jungerman thinks he’s funny, too. For example, when police asked him whether he was shooting at the man he believed had stolen pipe from him, Jungerman insisted it was a warning shot, saying, “Missing him would have hurt my pride.”

Only when it suits his needs does he claim to have mental problems…In the civil trial where Thomas Pickert represented one of the men Jungerman had shot (resulting in the man losing a leg to amputation), Jungerman claimed his thinking had been cloudy since he fell and hit his head on concrete several years ago.

Yeah, sure.

…Judge David Byrn has not ruled on the motion for a mental exam. I think he almost certainly will grant the motion, however, and I also believe state psychiatrists will conclude he suffers from no apparent mental disease or defect and will find him competent to stand trial.

If, by some chance, they determine he does suffer from mental disease or defect, do not worry; this man is not going free. He would change his plea from “not guilty” to “not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.” If a jury found him not guilty for that reason, he would be committed to the Fulton State Hospital, the facility for defendants found not guilty, or unable to stand trial, by reason of mental disease or defect.

This change of direction by Jungerman looks to me like the start of a delaying action. When the state has overwhelming evidence — which I think it has in the Pickert case — a defendant’s best option is to delay, delay, delay. Let evidence get stale, hope witnesses get cold feet. Whatever. Just forestall prosecution as long as possible.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe this trial will still start Feb. 25, as scheduled. But don’t be surprised if it doesn’t.