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An insanity plea for the Christmas Eve shooting and wounding of an Oregon mail carrier was dismissed on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge J. Immergut, who ruled that Kevin Eugene Irvine was aware that his actions were illegal.
Shooter Made Three DoorDash Deliveries After Attacking Target
The shooting occurred in Milwaukie on Christmas Eve 2022 when Irvine retrieved a .22-caliber rifle before driving around Milwaukie in his van looking for David Knapp, the mail carrier.
Evidence was that when he spotted his target, he knelt and fired three times before picking up the spent casings. Irvine then drove away before making three DoorDash deliveries.
Judge Immergut found Irvine (34), a schizophrenic, guilty of attempted murder and aggravated assault of a federal employee and the use of a firearm in an act of violence.
Irvine’s defense lawyers said their client believed the mail carrier used telepathy to assault him sexually.
Evidence was that Knapp was delivering mail on Southeast 37th Avenue when a bullet struck the back of his left thigh, exiting a few inches above his knee. Knapp had his back to Irvine at the time of the shooting.
The mail carrier testified that he was unable to work for about a month after the shooting and was still receiving counseling for post-traumatic stress.
Before the shooting, Irvine filed more than 20 complaints online to police in Portland and Tigard, reporting sexual assaults, intimidation, and harassment by strangers.
The Court Cannot Justify the Use of Deadly Force
Judge Immergut argued that even if the court accepted Irvine’s delusional accounts as the truth, it could not justify the use of deadly force. The Judge found that at the time of the shooting, Irvine was in control of his behavior.
Despite evaluations by three defense psychologists that Irvine was seriously psychotic at the time of the shooting, Judge Immergut said all the court could ask was if Irvine was legally insane and not insane by other standards.
However, the defense team maintained that their client’s psychotic delusions were responsible for the crime, saying they would appeal the Judge’s decision.
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