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Charging Documents Suggest Firearms Suspect Might Be Mentally Unstable

Days after the Capitol Police arrested a Florida man for carrying unregistered firearms and ammunition in his car, information has emerged to suggest that 59-year-old Ty Carroll Mitchum is mentally unstable.

The court records and official charging document provided by the D.C. Superior Court’s Criminal Division fill in the gaps from a sparsely detailed statement released Sunday night by the Capitol Police to alert the congressional community of the arrest.

According to the charging document, officers noticed “a possible suspicious individual” in a restricted area near the West Front of the Capitol on Sunday afternoon who was also “apparently talking to himself.”

Confronted by Capitol Police officers, the charging document continued, Mitchum then “advised that he had driven to Washington, DC from Clearwater, FL to speak with his lawyer … in reference to [his] role in helping take down Osama Bin Laden’s terror network.”

He went on to tell the officers that he had weapons in his car for “protection” and volunteered his car to be searched for proof. The officers ultimately uncovered a Remington 12 Gauge Shotgun Model 870, a Springfield Armory 9MM handgun Model DX9 and a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver. They also uncovered 69 rounds of 9mm ammunition, as well as 38 rounds of .44 caliber bullets.

It is illegal to have unregistered guns in the District of Columbia.

Capitol Police spokesman Shennell Antrobus told CQ Roll Call on Sunday night that the agency’s decision to issue a press release regarding Mitchum’s arrest was not to cause alarm, but rather to show “the Capitol Hill community that the agency always has [its] safety in mind.”

On Tuesday, Mitchum was still in police custody pending the results of a mental competency exam.

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