The State : Lawyer Wants Client on Coke

The lawyer for Ramon Salcido, charged with killing three members of his family and three others in an April 14 rampage in Northern California wine country, says he wants to prove his client has a brain disorder by giving him cocaine. “I want to get him intoxicated with some cocaine and see what the connection is,” said Deputy Public Defender Marteen Miller, who believes Salcido used cocaine and alcohol on the day of the killing rampage. Miller said preliminary tests indicate Salcido may have a history of seizures and trauma that could explain the crimes. The attorney said he will ask a judge to transfer Salcido from the Sonoma County Jail to Orange County, where more neurological tests can be performed. Dr. Monte Buchsbam of UC Irvine, who would perform the tests, said they may tell whether Salcido is a schizophrenic, a manic-depressive or a sufferer of some other mental illness, but said drugging Salcido with cocaine might not prove much.