Robert Pickett Appears in Court

W A S H I N G T O N, Feb. 14, 2001 -- A middle-aged Indiana accountant charged in connection with a shooting incident outside the White House was ordered held without bond today, pending a preliminary hearing.

Robert W. Pickett of Evansville, who was shot in the knee by a Secret Service officer as he allegedly waved a gun outside the White House Feb. 7, appeared in U.S. District Court on crutches. Pickett told U.S. Magistrate Alan Kay he was prepared to affirm that all the answers he has given in connection with the case so far were true.

Pickett is charged with assault on a federal officer. If convicted, he could face 10 years behind bars.

Prosecutors Ask to Send Pickett to Psychiatric Hospital

Kay said he also will conduct a commitment hearing Tuesday. Federal prosecutors have asked that Pickett be sent to a federal psychiatric hospital for examination.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Walutes said Pickett, who was hospitalized and operated on after the incident, was taking at least 24 different medications and said he had been under psychiatric care for 15 years.

Defense lawyers sought unsuccessfully to prevent law enforcement officers from talking to Pickett. One of the court-appointed lawyers could be seen leafing through five separate prescription forms prior to the hearing.

Authorities said at the time that Pickett had refused to drop his revolver when confronted by police, and that he had pointed it at bushes where officers were hiding.

"My death is on your hands," the 47-year-old accountant wrote in a letter to the Internal Revenue Service the week before the shooting. "I have been the victim of corrupt government."

The confrontation took place near the Ellipse that is patrolled by the U.S. Park Police. Visitors have a clear view of the White House from that point, but the building is quite far away.