Ohio shootings suspect pleads innocent

COLUMBUS (AP) -- The man charged with a series of highway shootings around central Ohio pleaded innocent Monday to the 24 counts, and his attorneys said they are gathering medical reports about his mental state.
The reports, including information from several psychiatrists, date back at least eight years, said Mike Miller, a lawyer representing suspect Charles A. McCoy Jr., who is a diagnosed schizophrenic. McCoy, 28, pleaded innocent in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to the attacks, which included the Nov. 25 fatal shooting of Gail Knisley, 62, of Washington Court House. He could face the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder in that attack.
"We've got a lot of records we want to see that we don't have yet that have existed for quite a few years," Miller said. "We'll look at those and react accordingly, but it's still early to say what we may ultimately do."
Those records include reports by psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and counselors, his lawyers confirmed. "They are medical records of all shapes and sizes," said Andrew Haney, another McCoy attorney.
Under state law, McCoy could have entered a plea of innocent by reason of insanity at Monday's hearing. He also could enter that plea in the future.
Haney said last week that McCoy was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia several years ago.
Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said Monday that it's typical in such cases for defense attorneys to research their clients' cases before deciding whether to file an insanity plea.