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Murray State Bans Man Court Warns is Mentally Ill and Obsessed with Guns

Murray State Police

Murray State University Police have banned a man from campus following an interaction on May 29. Police received on Monday a copy of an order from the Logan Circuit Court that stated 50-year-old Lyle Scott Newsom of Mayfield is a diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenic who is no longer taking his medication and is obsessed with guns.

The Court stated "No one with knowledge of the facts will be able to honestly say they did not see it coming," with regard to any fault, risk or responsibility for injury caused by Newsom.

Murray State Police said Newsom stated several times he would return to campus.

He is a white male, five-foot, ten-inches tall, 300 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He drives a red Chevrolet HHR hatchback with the plate number 945WGP. He resides in Mayfield but has used a Murray address.

Credit Murray State Police

Newsom appeared in the Logan Circuit Court of his own volition on May 29 seeking to have the court set aside a prior order dismissing 2007 charges against him on the grounds that he was insane. "The conversation was lengthy and difficult to summarize," the order stated.

The court found Newsom appeared anxious and stressed. He said he possessed firearms and said police were oppressing him by not allowing him to purchase firearms. Newsom said he believed this was because of a written notation on a piece of paper that dismissed the charges in his case. He insisted the court had ordered that a firearm be returned to him on the order dismissing the case.

According to the court, the file was retrieved and showed the charges were dismissed based upon a finding that Newsom was "not guilty by reason of insanity." The order did not direct a firearm be returned to Newsom, but rather to his father Ronald Newsom, the firearm's owner. When confronted with this information, Lyle Newsom insisted the firearm be returned to him. He insisted the Judge fix the problem so that he could possess and purchase firearms.

"He made numerous statements that cause the Court to question his current sanity," the order stated. This includes, Newsom stating his neighbors were spying on him and were inserting their personalities into him, that he feared the police, that he mentioned several times he had fought six Kentucky State Troopers with his bare hands (the order added that this may be true), that he believed the police and others engaged in a conspiracy against him and that he stated he had been "internally beheaded."

The judge told Newsom that if he challenged the final judgment dismissing the charges as erroneous that the charges might be reinstated. He declined the Court's suggestion that he think about it and come back a few days later and that he seek legal advice. Public defenders advised him to wait and seek advice. The judge ultimately ordered that the matter would be taken up on May 31 and that, pending the outcome of the issue, he be held in custody under a $10,000 bond. On May 31, Newsom was permitted to make additional statements. With the order dated May 31, he was no longer held in custody and was released.

According to the order, Newsom's lack of competency to stand trial was not a seriously contested issue in 2007. Due to a mental illness, he was not able to comprehend the requirement of law or conform his conduct to the law at the time of the alleged crime. He has had other felony charges in other counties dismissed on the grounds that he was not competent to stand trial.

"The Court believes from Mr. Newsom's statements and demeanor, and from his lack of logic or reason, he likely remains incompetent to stand trial and remains seriously mentally ill." The court said they believe he is a likely a danger to himself or others, particularly his "neighbors." Newsom specifically mentioned others who have wronged him, including Circuit Judge Andrew Self of Christian County, his former attorney Stephanie Richie Mize, the Calloway County Attorney in connection with an incident he said occurred in the college library at Murray State, and a 'City Council' (but it was unclear which one).

The Court said they believe Newsom's appearance was a cry for help. He did not resist when taken into custody and was concerned only for his car that he arrived in. The order stated the Cabinet for Health and Family Services has a legal statutory duty to take action to protect Newsom from himself and to protect the public from him. "It has through counsel denied that it has any duty to seriously mentally ill persons or to the public in a similar case which this Court made public record. It is hoped that it will recognize the duty in this case.”

The Court has adjudicated Newsom as a "mental defective."

Police are at an elevated risk of danger when encountering Newsom. He is in a heightened danger from being killed by police and others due to his irrational fears, mental illness and obsession with guns, according to the order.

As of 2007, he had been in mental hospitals 25 times. At least one admission was involuntary. He has been diagnosed as a Paranoid Schizophrenic and has rejected prescribed medications.

Murray State Police say if Newsom is seen on campus to contact them at 270-809-2222 or via the LiveSafe app.

Read the Court Order:

Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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