A forensic psychologist said the psychological profile of a Rockville man accused of fatally shooting a popular athletic trainer in February was consistent with someone suffering from depression.
Dr. Neil Blumberg took the stand Thursday as an expert witness in the trial of Michael Wayne Adams, 45, and said Adams exhibited a psychological profile consistent with the defendant's assertion that deadly force was necessary on the day he shot Jason David Hadeed, 33, .
Adams has testified that on Feb. 8, Hadeed forced his way into Adams' apartment in the King Farm neighborhood of Rockville, struck him twice in the stomach, and then attempted to steal a laptop as partial repayment of an $18,000 gambling debt.
Adams told the jury Wednesday that he remembers holding the gun and the gun going off in his hand, but he does not remember shooting Hadeed.
Blumberg said that Adams had a major depressive disorder, suffered from pathological gambling and had a personality disorder with obsessive tendencies.
"The depressive disorder combined with the stress of the assault would have significantly impaired his ability to remember certain details of the event itself," Blumberg said.
Blumberg said that after reviewing Adams' files, he learned that Adams had been diagnosed with depression three times and had taken medication for brief periods.
On Jan. 9, one month before the shooting, Adams was interviewed at the Woodburn Center for Community Mental Health in Annandale, Va., where doctors diagnosed him for the third time as having a "major depressive disorder" and prescribed anti-depressant medication that first required Adams to undergo a physical examination. Blumberg said records show that Adams never received that examination and never began taking the medication.
The prosecution argued that Blumberg, of Timonium, was being retained by the defense attorneys, who were paying him thousands of dollars for his services. Assistant State's Attorney Damon Bell wrote a list of Blumberg's billable hours for the jury to consider whether his opinion was fair or biased.
Defense attorney Robert Bonsib countered by listing the government and state courts for which Blumberg had testified as an expert witness or been retained by.
Adams spent five hours on the witness stand in his own defense Wednesday and said he only wanted Hadeed out of his house and never wanted to kill him. He also told the jury that he does not remember aiming the gun or shooting Hadeed.
On the winter night of the shooting, Hadeed came to Adams' apartment in the 200 block of King Farm Drive. After being struck by Hadeed, Adams said he got a small pistol from a drawer in the kitchen and, without pointing it at Hadeed, yelled for him to get out of his house. When Hadeed charged at him, Adams said he was afraid Hadeed would overpower him.
"I was afraid he would take the gun and shoot me," he said. "I reacted."
"How did you react?" Bonsib said.
"I don't know, but the gun went off," Adams said.
Adams said he followed Hadeed onto the front step. When asked by Assistant State's Attorney Stephen Chaikin why he followed him outside, Adams said he "just wanted [Hadeed] out of my house."
Adams said Hadeed charged at him again and began dancing evasively toward him and the gun went off twice more on the porch step. Hadeed then began to walk or run down the King Farm Drive sidewalk toward Rockville Pike until he collapsed, Adams said.
Adams said he walked over to Hadeed, who he said had not pleaded for his life as other witnesses had testified to hearing.
Adams said he was in such a state of shock about what had just happened that he wasn't even sure if Hadeed had been hit.
"I was scared," he said. "Very scared. I didn't know what to do, so I went to my mom's."
Adams' mother lives in Vienna, Va. He turned himself in to police in Virginia several hours later.
Court will not be in session Friday, but closing arguments are expected to be on Monday.