Monday, Sept. 26, 2005 | 10:06 a.m.
The California man who allegedly told police that he ran over a crowd of people on a Strip sidewalk last week because he thought they were armed and angry demons, this morning was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Stephen Michael Ressa of Rialto, Calif., stood silent and glared into the camera during his video appearance in justice court this morning.
The results of Ressa's psychiatric examination are to be reviewed and considered a Oct. 26 before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron, the same judge who ordered the evaluation.
Ressa is charged with two counts of murder with use of a deadly weapon, 12 counts of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, 12 counts of battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle in connection with the crash.
Chief Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz said driving while under the influence charges could also be filed, but he is still waiting on the results of Ressa's blood work.
Schwartz's fellow prosecutor, Chief Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane, said a determination as to whether to pursue the death penalty against Ressa will not be made until Ressa's case moves to District Court.
According to the Metro Police report, after Ressa was arrested he told police that he "intentionally steered the vehicle toward" the pedestrians because he was angry at them and thought they were armed. Ressa told police he remembered that the people standing in front of his vehicle were staring at him like "demons," and those that had their hands in their pockets may have been armed with guns, according to the arrest report.
"Ressa said people were always 'out to get him,' and when asked what that meant, he said 'kill me,' " the police report stated.
Ressa had been previously convicted of driving under the influence and being under the influence of drugs in 2000. He pleaded guilty this year of possession of marijuana with intent to sell. He was serving a nine-month sentence in California but was allowed to serve his sentence on weekends.
On Sept. 19, Ressa allegedly beat his mother, put a knife to her throat and stole her vehicle. He was wanted by California authorities in the beating.
After he was arrested by Metro Police on the Strip last week, Ressa admitted to the authorities that he had drug and alcohol problems and consumed some alcohol the day before the incident but said he had not been drinking or doing drugs on the day of the crash, the report stated.
Police are awaiting the results of blood tests to see if that is true.
Detectives who interviewed Ressa said Ressa appeared "lucid and understood all of our questions," and "admitted he knew right from wrong," according to the report.
He also told police that he had been prescribed medication but had stopped taking it, the police report stated. The report did not go into detail on what kind of medication it was or why Ressa was prescribed it.
Ressa had been gambling at various hotels in Las Vegas and was sleeping in the burgundy Buick, the report stated.
When the Buick careened down the sidewalk in front of Bally's about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, two men were fatally injured.
Gordon Kusayanagi, a 52-year-old chocolate shop owner and rock musician from Hollister, Calif., was taken to University Medical Center and died that night. Mark Modaressi, 26, of Irvine, Calif., died on Thursday.
Another 12 people were hospitalized as a result of the crash. Six people had been treated and released as of this morning.
A 26-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man remained in fair condition this morning at University Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. Also, two women who remained at Sunrise Hospital this morning were in good condition, according to that hospital.
Rachel Burke and Aidan Nolan, both of Dublin, Ireland, are in good condition at UMC but are expected to require more surgery and physical rehabilitation.
One moment, the newlyweds were holding hands and walking down the Las Vegas Strip, returning to their hotel after shopping.
Then suddenly Nolan was 300 yards away, on the roof of a speeding car, and Burke was unconscious on the sidewalk.
Speaking to reporters from their beds at University Medical Center on Friday, the couple from Dublin, Irelan, said they were stunned that the driver acted intentionally.
"I couldn't believe it happened," Burke said. "And when they said it wasn't really an accident -- I just couldn't believe it. I would just really like to see him locked away."
They both suffered knee fractures. Nolan's shoulder is dislocated and broken and he also broke two bones in his hand. Burke suffered road burn marks on her back and a cut near her eye.
Burke, 24, a customer service representative for a computer company, and Nolan, 30, a software engineer, married in Dublin three weeks earlier and embarked on a trip to the United States.
They traveled to Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles and arrived in Las Vegas around lunch time on Tuesday.
Before they wreck, Burke had bought a digital camera, a denim jacket and a denim jumper at the Forum Shops at Caesars, and the couple was headed back to the MGM Grand for a nap before dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.
"We were actually holding hands at the time," Nolan said. "Then I saw a car coming and saw people getting thrown into the air."
Nolan ended up on the roof of the car and fell to the ground seconds later. Burke was still at the place where they were hit, and he couldn't get to her because of his leg injuries.
"I went into a panic -- 'Where's Rachel? Is she OK?' " Nolan recalled. "A U.S. Marine kept talking to me and keeping me focused. I was in considerable pain at the time."
Burke regained consciousness in UMC's trauma center. She doesn't remember the impact.
The hospital arranged to put the couple in the same hospital room. They're not sure how long they'll have to remain hospitalized in Las Vegas -- it could be as long as three weeks. Relatives from Ireland were arranging to fly to Las Vegas to be with them as they recover.
It's not how they expected to spend their honeymoon, but they feel lucky to be alive and to be together.
"It makes you appreciate what you have," Nolan said.
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