IF ANYBODY DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE - it is a COMBAT VETERAN

PAT LAMOUREUX - an American Soldier - VA rated, 100% disabled

One of his multiple disability ratings is 70% for:
                       Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD.

Pat Lamoureux, Iraq War Combat Veteran, has been detained in the Pahrump, Nye County, Nevada Detention Center since SEPTEMBER 19, 2008.

HIS TRIAL WILL NOT BEGIN UNTIL JANUARY 27, 2011.  26 MONTHS IN A COUNTY JAIL WITHOUT A TRIAL.

THIS MAN HAD NEVER BEEN IN TROUBLE IN HIS LIFE prior to September 19, 2008.

On September 19, 2008 Pat "snapped".  Neighbors called 911, and when four Nye County Deputies arrived, a gun battle began.

One of the deputies was wounded (friendly fire?).  Pat Lamoureux was shot twice.

The deputy was treated and released within 36 hours of the incident, and returned to duty within 2 months.

Pat Lamoureux's bail was set at $2.5 million dollars, making it impossible for him to be free on bail pending trial.

Pat Lamoureux was also left with a retained bullet in his left leg - in spite of being airlifted to a Las Vegas Nevada hospital that night.

Pat's TRIAL will not begin until JANUARY 27, 2011.  This man who had never been in trouble in his life will have been incarcerated in a county jail FOR 26 MONTHS without a trial.

He faces 15 felony charges - and if convicted, he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

JOSEPH PATRICK "PAT" LAMOUREUX is NOT a CRIMINAL - he is NOT a DANGEROUS MAN.  This man does NOT belong in the county jail - much less being faced with the possibility of SPENDING THE REST OF HIS LIFE IN PRISON.

Immediately following the incident, the VETERANS ADMINISTRATION slammed the door in this Veteran's face.  For 15 months, the VA refused treatment and medication.

In late August 2009, almost one year later, the gunshot wound site burst open and began oozing. 

In early December 2009, the VA stepped back into the picture, and immediately began making arrangements for removal of the retained bullet.  The bullet was finally removed on February 17, 2010.

From SEPTEMBER 19, 2008  until March 2010  this Veteran received no psychological counseling for PTSD, or counseling concerning the horrific tragedy that occurred that night.

AND PLEASE, be clear - what happened that night was a TRAGEDY - not a crime.  Pat Lamoureux is NOT a CRIMINAL.

In March 2009, the ACLU finalized an investigation of the Nye County Detention Center in Pahrump, Nevada.  The findings were conclusive that the facility was uninhabitable; there are multiple Federal violations present at this facility, including shortage of staff, no on-site medical personnel, BLACK MOLD in the walls of the kitchen, just to list a few. 

(Search the internet for the complete findings of the ACLU. In your search engine type:  Nye County Detention Center ACLU March 2009.)

We treat stray animals better than Veteran Pat Lamoureux has been treated.

When an honorable man, an honorable Veteran, such as Pat Lamoureux, unexpectedly and without malice and forethought is thrown deeply into the criminal justice system - as Americans, we must step up to the plate and offer these Veterans a better solution than incarceration. 

26 months of this Veterans life will have been lost sitting in a jail cell. A far better solution would have been a jail diversion program, allowing this Veteran to have been receiving in-patient treatment. 

It is well documented that incarceration causes PTSD.  This is NOT the right answer for our Veterans who laid their lives on the line for our country.

Please, support this Veteran, and support jail diversion programs for Veterans who are first time offenders.

Please go to http://jpldefense.blogspot.com  for additional information about Pat Lamoureux. 

Review the 3 articles published in the Las Vegas Review Journal which are linked at the right of the blog. 

Also, please go to  http://rwbbb-ptsd.com "RED, WHITE and BLUE to BLACK and BLUE - PTSD"  and show your support for all Veterans with PTSD.

Pat Lamoureux is an outstanding man, who deserves the best - please, show your support for this Veteran.

One episode in a person's life - does not define the person.

Thank you.