Fullenkamp
Photo courtesy of Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office
WAPAKONETA — A plea of not guilty by reason of insanity was entered Monday in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court on behalf of a 77-year-old Wapakoneta man charged with arson, the criminal use of an explosive device and cruelty to a companion animal.
Gerald Fullenkamp was arrested Oct. 24 after being indicted by a grand jury for a series of events that allegedly took place Oct. 5 in Auglaize County. Indictments were returned charging Fullenkamp with two counts of aggravated arson, felonies of the first- and second-degree. Prosecutors allege Fullenkamp, by means of a fire or explosion, did knowingly create a substantial risk of serious physical harm and to an occupied structure.
He was also charged with the criminal use of an explosive device, a second-degree felony, for allegedly releasing a “chemical weapon, biological weapon, radiologic or nuclear weapon or an explosive device that creates the risk of death or serious physical harm to another,” according to the indictment.
Two counts of cruelty to a companion animal were also contained in the indictment, alleging that Fullenkamp caused serious physical harm and did “torture, maim, cruelly beat, poison or needlessly kill” a companion animal.
Defense attorney Nick Catania on Monday filed a motion with the court to have his client undergo a mental examination. Judge Frederick Pepple ordered that evaluation to take place Nov. 7 at the Forensic Psychiatry Center for Western Ohio in Dayton.
All criminal matters in the case are stayed until evaluation is complete, according to court records.
