South Carolina ex-Marine not guilty by insanity after stealing fire truck, killing pedestrian

Published January 08, 2015

A judge has ruled a South Carolina man was insane when he stole a fire truck while naked and then struck and killed a pedestrian.

Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen found Kalvin Hunt not guilty by reason of insanity on Thursday after prosecutors and Hunt's attorneys agreed on his mental state, multiple media outlets reported.

The 28-year-old former Marine fled naked from the Naval Hospital in Beaufort in 2012, stole a Port Royal fire truck that was responding to a medical call at a nearby apartment complex, then struck and killed Justin Nicholas Miller before crashing into woods.

Hunt was sent for treatment to a secure care facility run by the South Carolina mental health department. He must remain there until he regains his sanity, and there will have to be another hearing before he can be released.

"Hunt will remain there until he's not a threat to himself or anyone else," Solicitor Duffie Stone said. "That status has the potential of remaining until he dies."

Hunt was dishonorably discharged from the Marines after his arrest. Along with murder, he was charged with six counts of hit and run with injuries, two counts of resisting, grand larceny and assault and battery in the first degree.

Defense attorney Cory Fleming called it one of the saddest cases he has ever seen. Prosecutors said Hunt's mother was trying to get him help from the Veterans Administration before he left the hospital.

"We felt like this is where we were going from the beginning," Fleming said of the insanity plea. "It's heartbreaking, and I hope now Kalvin can get the treatment he needs."

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/south-carolina-ex-marine-not-guilty-by-insanity-after-stealing-fire-truck-killing-pedestrian