"A California man facing life in prison for crashing his car into a UPS truck will not dispute that his actions resulted in the death of the driver when his trial opens Monday in Nevada County Superior Court.
Instead, Scott Krause's defense will argue that the defendant believed he was trying to escape man-eating subterranean beings when he ran into Drew Reynolds' truck on Jan. 6, 2004.
Krause has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to five felony counts, including first-degree murder, carjacking, and burglary, stemming from a string of alleged criminal activities leading up to the fatal highway crash.
In three court-ordered evaluations, the defendant stated he was fleeing subterranean beings he called 'hemadrones' when he carjacked a commercial vehicle near a Nevada City, Calif., gas station and then crashed into Reynolds' service vehicle.
'Everything had to do with his escape from the hemadrones,' said Nevada County District Attorney Michael Ferguson. 'According to the defendant, he wasFkF afraid they were going to put him in cargo and ship him to China to be eaten.'
Calls to public defender Gary Gordon went unanswered.
The evidentiary burden will fall on the defense to prove that Krause, a known methamphetamine addict with a history of drug-related arrests, was suffering from a pre-existing mental condition that either prevented him from understanding the consequences of his actions or knowing the difference between right or wrong.
A psychologist testified in a preliminary hearing that when he examined Krause in 2002, the divorced father of two displayed signs of delusions and paranoid schizophrenia.
He also testified that for at least two years before the incident, Krause was using methamphetamine at least twice a day.
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