San Diego

A Spring Valley man who shot an elderly bank customer at an automated teller machine in Grossmont Center was committed Wednesday to a state mental hospital for eight years and eight months.

The commitment for Richard Harold Trottier II, 31, follows a July 29 ruling that he was innocent by reason of insanity.

On Feb. 23, Trottier shot Robert Barrett, 71, of Lemon Grove, in the head and neck. Trottier was under the delusion he was a narcotics agent and Barrett was a suspect, according to court records.

Trottier also was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a firearm and shooting into an inhabited automobile. The prosecution said Trottier fired a second shot at Barrett’s wife, Laura Barrett, 69, but the bullet hit her purse and its contents stopped the bullet.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Douglas Woodworth committed Trottier after he was diagnosed by court-appointed psychiatrists as a paranoid schizophrenic who had hallucinations of being in combat.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Boles said Trottier could have his term extended at the state hospital in Atascadero when it expires if he is still considered dangerous or he could be released earlier if hospital officials believe he is sane. Boles said the Atascadero facility was selected over Patton State Hospital because it is believed to be more secure.