** Australian man charged after going berserk on call, seriously damaging ambulance
** Indiana medic convicted in 2001 double murder of coworkers gets another appeal
AUSTRALIA NEWS
** A New South Wales man will next appear in court September 9th after being charged with assaulting and
intimidating paramedics Wednesday. The Mudgee Guardian (August 28) said Ross Edward Gillan, 32, of
Mudgee faces tags including stalking/intimidating with intent to cause fear or physical harm x 2, common
assault x 2, destroy or damage property x 2, and use of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable
offence x 2. According to the newspaper, Gillan hailed EMS to his home around 5 p.m. for undisclosed
medical issues. While practitioners began treatment, he allegedly became agitated, threatening them
and using his body to push them out of his house. When the providers left to take shelter in the ambulance,
Gillan then banged on the vehicle’s hood, broke the spot lights, punched the driver’s side mirror, and tore the
emergency lighting from the front of the unit. As the rig reversed down the driveway, he caused additional
dents by tossing a plant and two water meter covers at it. Initial estimates indicate Gillan’s attack caused
several thousand dollars damage.
UNITED STATES NEWS
** A former Indiana paramedic, convicted of murdering two co-workers in 2001, was given an appeal
hearing before the state’s supreme court yesterday. That is the word from Nexstar
(Tristatehomepage.com/August 27) which said Christopher Helsley, who had been employed with Pike
County at the time of the killings, claims he was not given a fair trial. The specifics of the complaint revolve
around inadequate defence and an erroneous sentence. The Courier Press (Mark Wilson/August 25) said
Helsley’s counsel want the term revised to a fixed number of years. Attorneys say psychological testing
indicates a dissociative episode occurred during the killings. A borderline personality disorder also probably
played a part. Lawyer Doug Walton said both conditions should have been taken into account at sentencing.
Helsley was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the April 18, 2001 murders of
Brad Maxwell, 22, and Marsha Rainey, 44. He was convicted June 21, 2002. The conviction was upheld
both in 2004 and in April 2014.
