Mentally ill man’s mom sought treatment, now he faces felonies

Thomas “Caleb” Andrus’s family says his violent March 3 arrest on assault and lewd conduct charges could have been avoided if mental health services had been available for the mentally ill Pasco man.

Instead, his mother, Jill Andrus, said, her repeated pleas for help from the crisis response unit — a publicly funded entity that responds to mental health challenges — went unanswered.

Caleb, 21, is an adult who wasn’t threatening to harm himself or others, she said.

But instead of heading to the treatment his mother had arranged, he encountered Pasco police officers after alarmed residents called in reports of a nude man.

“DRUGS ARE BAD,” the Pasco Police Department declared on its Facebook page in a post about the arrest. The department did not identify Caleb, but did include a photo of the towel he was wearing and described how officers responded to the area of Road 84 and Messara after residents called law enforcement.

Caleb was combative and punched officers, police said. He was arrested and lodged at the Franklin County jail, charged with two counts of felony assault and one count of misdemeanor lewd conduct.

Andrus’ family was quick to comment. He has serious mental health issues and they have been working to get him help. He belongs in treatment, not jail, they said.

That’s exactly what Jill Andrus planned when she traveled from her new residence in Arizona to the Tri-Cities a day earlier, aiming to wrestle Caleb into treatment.

She had arranged treatment in Texas. She’s a real estate agent who said Caleb’s family has the resources to help, if allowed to do so.

Confused and scared

Instead of being in treatment, Caleb sits in jail — 14 days as of Friday.

His mother said he has no history of violence and was in psychosis, confused and scared when he struck two officers. He was apologetic afterward and the officers were gracious.

It isn’t Caleb Andrus’ first encounter with the criminal justice system. Public records identify him as a defendant in more than a dozen cases, in Benton, Walla Walla, Lincoln, Yakima and Pasco courts.

His last appearance was scheduled for March 6, in Pasco Municipal Court, but he refused to appear and his mother worries for his safety behind bars.

Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond said Caleb is being monitored and will be transferred to the mental health unit at Lourdes Medical Center when a bed becomes available.

Jill Andrus said when she reached out to the crisis response unit, Caleb didn’t meet the criteria for “crisis” because he wasn’t threatening to harm himself or others and had access to food and shelter.

She shared her son’s story with the Herald to highlight the need for mental health services.

She has found an ally in former Benton County Commissioner Claude Oliver, a real estate executive who said the Tri-Cities is overdue to establish a one-stop shop to coordinate its response to mental health issues that too often land in jail.

“What kind of a disaster game is this?” asked Oliver, whose latest move is to ask U.S. Sen Patty Murray, D-Wash., to promote coordinated crisis response teams in the federal budget. He plans to ask Franklin County to endorse the idea and then Benton.

The counties are pursuing a different tack as Washington moves to consolidate health care delivery in 2020. The counties want to hear from Leon Evans, an expert from the successful Bexar County consolidated mental health center in San Antonio, Texas. Evans’ visit has not been scheduled because of contract negotiations.

Bipolar at 14

Caleb was a promising adolescent — popular, athletic and musical. But he had manic episodes and at 14, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

By 18, he was delusional, believing he was an anime character tasked with leading a revolution.

In August 2015, he disappeared. It would be days before he would respond to her texts. But when he did, he told his mother he needed help. When she picked him up, Caleb acknowledged his delusions and that he needed to talk to someone.

Andrus thought drugs might be inducing the delusions, but she said tests revealed only marijuana.

In the intervening years, the episodes mounted.

Caleb agreed to medication, but quit after six months.

“He wanted some of his personality back,” Andrus said.

Six months ago, Jill Andrus moved to Arizona. Caleb initially went along, but returned to the Tri-Cities. He stayed with a family friend, a nurse who alerted her mother that his condition was deteriorating.

Alarmed, she paid a mental health expert from Spokane $50 an hour to develop an intervention plan and she identified help in Texas. The intervention was scheduled.

Andrus traveled from Arizona two days early, but Caleb had disappeared from the home where he was staying.

When he eventually answered a call, he said he was lost in the woods and speaking in broken English. When she pressed for details, he hung up.

Four hours later, Caleb answered the phone again. His mother said she suggested they have lunch at a favorite restaurant. Half an hour later, Caleb appeared at her friend’s home, drenched and wearing an unfamiliar yellow rain jacket. He’d fallen in a river, he said.

The family was set to have a conference call about Caleb’s condition, so Andrus gave him an over-the-counter sleeping aide, hoping he would doze off through the call. He woke just before the call was set to start.

“Nobody gives you a handbook on how to deal with a delusional person,” Andrus said.

Worried family members retreated down the street to take the call in private while Caleb was supposed to be taking a shower. Fifteen minutes later, he took off, wearing only shoes and the towel, destined to encounter Pasco officers several miles away.

Because it was a weekend when Caleb was brought to jail, there was no one to assess his condition when police brought him in. His mother will be back in the Tri-Cities next week to pursue help and navigate the court process.

Caleb doesn’t belong in jail, she said.

“It seems so obvious that it’s a psychological issue.”

This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Mentally ill man’s mom sought treatment, now he faces felonies."