COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County judge signed a petition for involuntary commitment Tuesday for a man accused of opening fire at his Kennesaw workplace seven years ago.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Jesse James Warren in a shooting spree at the Penske facility in January 2010. Three people died and two people were injured.
The shooting killed Van Springer, Jaider Marulanda, and Roberto Gonzalez. Penske employee Zach Werner was paralyzed in the shooting and died from his injuries in 2013.
Gonzalez’s brother-in-law, Joshua Holbrook, was shot and sustained permanent injuries.
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“He loved life and most of all he loved his family. We miss him every minute and we’ll miss him forever,” Maralunda’s wife said in court Tuesday.
Holrook couldn’t make it to court because of an emergency trip to the hospital caused by his injuries, so Prosecutor Jesse Evans read Holrook's statement.
“I’m not going to ask how he or what he was thinking. I really don’t know. I think he gets satisfaction from knowing pain and hell he caused all of our families and friends,” he said.
Two forensic psychiatrists testified that Warren suffers from a delusional disorder and still believes Penske stole $500 million that was given to him by the military for inventing Wi-Fi. They no longer believe Warren can be medicated to the point of being fit to stand trial.
Prosecutors sought the death penalty but lost a Supreme Court battle to have Warren forcibly medicated.
Judge Mary Staley Clark agreed with the psychiatrists that Warren remained a danger to himself and others and ordered him committed to a state mental hospital.
“We can at least take some solace knowing the defendant is locked up in a prison hospital and not able to inflict this on any other person in the public,” Evans said.