Assessment ordered for N.S. man with weapons in car

A Nova Scotia man charged in western Newfoundland for allegedly threatening to kill police officers appeared at a bail hearing Thursday afternoon in Stephenville, N.L.,but was quickly ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment.

Mark Baltzer, 53, of Somerset, N.S., was arrested June 20 after he brought a cache of weapons, including a crossbow, a rifle and a machete, on the ferry crossing from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland.

Police said a passenger told them Baltzer said he was on his way to Corner Brook, N.L.,to kill three officers.

He faces a slew of charges, including possession of firearms and breach of court orders.

Provincial court Judge Jacqueline Jenkins quickly ordered Baltzer to undergo a psychiatric assessment after he alternately yelled at police officers in the courtroom, blocked his ears and went into fits of sobbing.

The assessment will aim to determine whether or not Baltzer is fit to stand trial andwhether he was suffering a mental illness at the time of his arrest.

At one point during Thursday's hearing, Baltzer's lawyer tried to get him to quiet down.

Baltzer lay down on the bench where he was sitting and then called out, "There's more than one person I'm after, more thanone not-good person."

The defencelawyer tried to get a police officer to admit thatBaltzer hadn't really made the threats against the officers, but Baltzer interrupted to say, "Yes, I did."

No date was set for Baltzer's assessment.