HARTFORD — An attorney representing the Hartford teen charged with stealing a car last year and driving into a group of people at a cemetery in Bloomfield says he plans a mental health defense in the case.
The Hartford Courant reports lawyers for 19-year-old Frederick Sowell have argued the incident on Sept. 28, 2014 wouldn’t have occurred if not for his mental health issues at the time.
Police say on that date Sowell stole a vehicle occupied by an 86-year-old woman at Mount St. Benedict Cemetery and tore off in the direction of a group of people.
Police say Sowell turned at the last moment, but the car fishtailed and he ended up striking a 10-year-old girl.
If found not guilty, Sowell could still be sent to a state psychiatric hospital.
