An Oregon psychiatric patient, accused of killing a man in 2017, should not have been given a holiday pass to leave a secure treatment center several months earlier, according to a $6.5 million lawsuit, The Oregonian reported.
The lawsuit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Monday, lists Oregon's Psychiatric Security Review Board and Springfield police as defendants.
The suit alleges that the state board was overseeing the care of Joshua Paul Jaschke, who had been sentenced to 20 years of supervision by the psychiatric board for assault, The Oregonian reported. Jaschke received a holiday pass to stay with his mother in December 2016, the newspaper reported. Jaschke did not visit his mother and failed to return to the facility on Dec. 30, 2016. He was later "involved in a domestic disturbance," according to the lawsuit. He was detained by Springfield police but was released, according to court documents.
"Jaschke was released from his handcuffs and walked off into the Oregon night," the lawsuit alleges.
According to court documents, on March 27, 2017, Jaschke stabbed Spiros Ghenatos, 49, "a frail and ill man," in a Eugene apartment. Jaschke also broke into another man's apartment, then attempted to hijack the car of a high school principal, the Eugene Register-Guard reported.
Police arrested Jaschke while he was wearing only underwear and boots, The Oregonian reported.
Jaschke is charged with murder, and his trial is set for April in Lane County Circuit Court, the newspaper reported.
State officials and representatives of the state psychiatric board did not return a request for comment, The Oregonian reported. Springfield police also did not comment, the newspaper reported.
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