By EMS1 Staff
PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. — Court documents revealed Monday that high levels of cocaine were found in the system of a man who is accused of killing fire Lt. Jason Adams.
Lt. Adams was shot and killed while responding to a medical call at the home of Mark Pruitt, 48, in January. Pruitt, who is being charged with manslaughter, thought Lt. Adams was an intruder.
“He said, ‘I shot this man. He broke into my house,’” Pruitt’s neighbor, Tommy Noblett told ABC7. “Then I got here [Pruitt’s home] and I seen the first responder’s bag laying there and I seen who it was … then knew it wasn’t an intruder.”
Police found cocaine residue in Pruitt’s kitchen, which “provides evidence to suggest that he [Pruitt] had used cocaine within a few hours of the alleged offense,” wrote an examiner in a mental evaluation report.
Pruitt’s trial was suspended Monday after his defense requested a mental evaluation hearing. Although the examiner’s report stated Pruitt is fit to stand trial, it will not be officially decided until after the Dec. 1 hearing.
“It’s like I say, the family is not getting closure,” Phylis Stroud, Lt. Adams’ mother, said. “We cannot move forward until we can close and put this behind us.”