Woodward, Okla. — A Woodward teen facing federal charges for illegally possessing firearms will undergo a mental competency evaluation after allegedly making comments to a taxi driver about murder and eluding law enforcement.

Timmy Dean Eike, 18, was charged Wednesday in the United States Western District Court of Oklahoma with one count of unlawful possession of firearms and one count of providing false statements with respect to purchase of firearms from a licensed dealer.

The charges came after the Woodward County Sheriff's Office received a report earlier in the week from a local taxi cab driver who was "concerned over what Mr. Eike had been telling him," according to Sheriff Gary Stanley.

"He (Eike) asked the taxi cab driver how they had planned the Columbine incident," Stanley said.  "We all know what the Columbine incident was so that concerned us quite a bit."

In addition, according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint in federal court by Special Agent Chad R. Oubre of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Eike allegedly asked the driver, identified as Travis Ballard, odd questions for several months.  As Ballard drove Eike back and forth to work, he said the teen would ask things such as "how to hide dead bodies" or "what countries will extradite back to the United States."

Ballard also said, according to the affidavit, that he had spoken with some of Eike's family members who said they had seen Eike watching videos of the 1999 Columbine, Colo. shooting while loading his 20-guage shotgun.

During a taxi ride on Sunday, Ballard told authorities Eike had allegedly asked how hard police would look for him if he (Eike) had a warrant.  When Ballard said that would depend on what the warrant was for, Eike allegedly responded, "it would be for murder," the affidavit states.

However, there was no indication from the affidavit or the sheriff that Eike had made any specific threats against any certain person or persons.

"As far as we know there wasn't anybody in particular that he threatened," Stanley said.  "But Columbine was a school deal and he's a local Woodward High School student."

Eike would be a senior at Woodward High School this year.



AUTHORITIES MOVED QUICKLY

With the revelation of Eike's alleged statements coming on the heels of another deadly mass-shooting in Colorado, law enforcement officials worked quickly to investigate the matter.

After taking the initial report from Ballard on Sunday, Stanley said his office shared their findings with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday, July 23.  By Tuesday, July 24, Eike had been arrested.

The sheriff said federal officials were contacted because "we understood Mr. Eike had been declared mentally incompetent before and it's against the law for people who are declared mentally incompetent to buy firearms, it's a federal violation."

During their investigation, FBI agents contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which reviewed ATF Form 4473 records showing that Eike recently purchased 2 firearms.  ATF Form 4473 must be filled out when someone is making an over-the-counter firearms sales transaction.

According to Oubre's affidavit, the ATF records showed that Eike purchased a Remington Model 870, 20 gauge shotgun on July 5, and an Einfield Model 1917, 30.06 caliber rifle on July 9.

Further review of the records show that Eike had "falsely answered 'no' to the question on the form[s] that asked whether he had been adjudicated mentally defective or been committed to a mental institution," Oubre stated in the affidavit.

According to court records, Eike was ordered to involuntary inpatient mental health treatment in February of this year at the Northwest Center for Behavioral Health in Fort Supply and in April of this year was taken to a mental health facility in Lawton for treatment.  In both cases, the treatment came after Eike had reportedly talked to other students about committing suicide. Records show in April, Eike allegedly told a police officer he was "planning to hang himself in the school bathroom."

On July 24, federal officers with the United States Marshal Service obtained a search warrant for Eike's home and found the firearms along with approximately 250 rounds of ammunition in Eike's bedroom.

Eike was not at home at the time of the search, but a deputy marshal was able to locate and arrest Eike at his job at Wal-Mart.

The teen was initially taken to the Woodward County Jail, but was later transported by Oubre to the Logan County Jail.

The affidavit states that during the transport Oubre advised Eike of his rights and told Eike he was being arrested because he had lied on the form when purchasing firearms. Oubre said Eike then allegedly admitted to lying on the form, because he knew if he had been truthful "that the store probably would not have sold him the guns."

"Eike admitted to lying on the form; however (he) did not believe lying on paper was the same as lying to someone's face," Oubre wrote in the affidavit.

Eike also, according to Oubre, said he had "lied to the judge and was not really mentally defective."  The teen allegedly said he lied to the judge in an attempt to "receive income for disability," the affidavit states.



MENTAL EXAMINATION

Based on Eike's mental health history, Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Kumiega, who is the assigned prosecutor in the case, filed an unopposed motion Friday, July 27 requesting Eike undergo a mental examination.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert E. Bacharach approved the motion Friday, ordering Eike "be committed to the custody of the Attorney General, not to exceed forty-five (45) days for an examination by at least one qualified psychiatrist or psychologist."

The goal of the examination is to determine whether Eike is presently or was at the time of the offense "suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent," according to the judge's order.  

Eike made his initial appearance in the case on Wednesday, July 25.  He is now scheduled to appear again on Monday, July 30 at 10 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary M. Purcell for a detention hearing.

Bob Troester, executive assistant U.S. attorney, said the purpose of Monday's hearing is "to determine whether detention should be continued or not."  

Troester said the court would "take into account multiple issues" in determining whether or not Eike could be released on bond or remain in detention as his case proceeds.  These "multiple issues" include whether or not Eike could be considered a flight risk or a danger to others in the community, he said.

Troester also said that Eike's continued detention could also depend on the outcome of the mental competency evaluation.



GLAD IT WAS HANDLED QUICKLY

The Woodward County sheriff said he appreciated how efficiently and effectively federal authorities handled this unsettling case.

"The federal marshals got right on it and handled it in a quick manner," Stanley said, noting "I think they acted on it quickly because a lot of people were concerned by it and the Colorado incident was a terrible incident and we'd rather something like that not happen in Woodward."

He said it is unknown how serious Eike may have been about carrying out any actions associated with his alleged comments.

"I can't look in his mind and see what he was thinking and whether he actually planned something," Stanley said.  "But the thing about it is that he had purchased 2 weapons recently and along with talking about murder, things were beginning to get pretty serious."

The sheriff added that he "was pleased" that federal officers were able to address the matter before the weapons were potentially used.

"They got the guns and the ammo, so hopefully they prevented something from happening if it was going to," Stanley said.