Veltman Can Defend Self in Witt Case Trial

A federal judge “reluctantly” ruled Wednesday that a man accused of writing obscene and threatening letters to former Olympic ice skater Katarina Witt is competent to stand trial and act as his own attorney.

At the conclusion of a 2 1/2-hour hearing, U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor said that Harry Veltman III, 47, of Westminster was “intelligent” and “articulate” and “understands where he is and what he is doing.”

Taylor said he was “reluctantly” ruling that Veltman can defend himself, saying he thought Veltman would have a “better trial” with federal public defender H. Dean Steward representing him.

“But I can’t force you to do that,” Taylor said.

Steward is acting as Veltman’s advisory attorney.

The trial was set for March 10 in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

Veltman, who said in court Wednesday that he had discovered a cure for AIDS and could locate Noah’s ark, was indicted on seven counts of using the mail to send the letters to Witt at her home in Germany. Each count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Veltman is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Los Angeles.

Before Taylor’s ruling, Dr. William Vicary, a forensic psychiatrist from Los Angeles, testified that Veltman suffers from delusions and should be treated for chronic psychotic mental illness before being tried.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Wayne Gross agreed, saying Veltman was not competent to stand trial at this time.

Outside the courtroom, Veltman’s mother, Betty J. Hall of Westminster, said she thought the judge was “very fair,” but she was concerned that her son would be shuffled through the federal correctional system without receiving any treatment for his mental illness.

“He needs care and treatment,” she said. “Whether he gets it or not is like shooting dice in Las Vegas.”

FBI agents arrested Veltman Dec. 26, the day before Witt was scheduled to appear at the Forum in Inglewood. He was arrested once before, in January, 1991, for allegedly throwing sexually threatening letters on the ice as Witt skated before a crowd in Denver. However, he was not prosecuted in that case.

Wednesday was not the first competency hearing for Veltman. On Jan. 6, U.S. Magistrate Ronald W. Rose ruled that Veltman was competent to stand trial and act as his own attorney.

Veltman tried to plead guilty to the charges Jan. 21, but Judge Taylor rejected the plea and instead ordered another competency hearing.