A Maine veteran is behind bars, charged with felony reckless conduct with a firearm.
Robert Ferrera III was arrested Sunday afternoon at his home in Shapleigh, Maine, after he shot an AK-47 and M-4 inside and outside of his home, according to York County Sheriff Bill King.
Ferrera's father called the Sheriff's Department to report his son may be a danger to himself or others. Sheriff's deputies said Ferrera was pacing in and outside of his home with his weapon, wearing binoculars and appearing to search for deputies, before peacefully surrendering in the woods.
"We have had contact with this individual before, so we did approach the situation very carefully," said Sheriff King.
Ferrera is being held without bail at the York County Jail. At his first court appearance Monday, the judge set bail for the felony reckless conduct with a weapon charge at $20,000, but ordered him held without bail for violating conditions in a previous case. Those bail conditions included not using dangerous weapons.
"He is a sweet guy, it's just that his head is in turmoil," said his mother Donna Ferrera.
She said Robert served in Afghanistan and was the top of his Ranger class. He returned home in 2012 and has been suffering from severe depression and PTSD.
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She said her family has tried to get him help through the VA, but ran into roadblocks along the way, including long wait times, wait lists, and "unskilled workers."
She was attempting to enroll him in the Home Base program through Massachusetts General Hospital when this latest episode happened.
"It's frustrating that they have the power to put him in a court ordered facility, but they don't do it," said Donna.
Ferrera's next court date is in October.
