Family of escaped hospital patient calls for more mental health resources
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah (ABC4) — The family of 34-year-old Devin Myers is calling this past week a nightmare.
Devin was arrested for five different charges, including aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, failure to remain at an accident involving serious injury and reckless driving.
“It’s been really hard seeing the charges against Devin, considering that we thought we were doing all the right things for him — from taking him to the emergency room for help on Saturday, and then again on Sunday — and I just feel like he has totally been let down,” Devin’s Mother Mary Myers said.
LEARN MORE: New details about escaped hospital patient, injured security officer
The family said they took Devin to get help on the Saturday before Easter.
“I took him to the hospital downtown, gave him a pink slip at the hospital, and then he was released a few hours later,” Devin’s Brother Drake Myers said.
Devin’s family said they tried finding help again the next day.
“I stayed up with him all night, and then he was still bad in the morning,” Drake said.
Drake said Devin was tested for drugs at multiple hospitals. However, Drake said all the tests came back clean.
“He would never hurt anyone,” Mary said.
“Never has, never would,” Drake said. “It wasn’t him at that time, is what makes it so sad.”
Both Drake and Mary said Devin was scared for his life and scared of things that “weren’t there.”
On March 31, it was reported that Devin ran out of the hospital, stole a car and injured a security officer trying to stop him.
The family said they contacted the emergency room at the South Jordan Health Center before taking Devin in.
“We were told that they could handle it. Like, is there a crisis team? Is there a mental health crisis team?” Mary asked.
Mary and Drake said they have not seen Devin since Thursday. They were allowed to talk with him for 30 minutes.
“He wasn’t very stable then. So, we had left the room after speaking with him and let them know like he’s … there’s no way he could go to jail. Like he’s … he’s not doing OK,” Drake said.
The family said Devin was diagnosed with a mental disorder. They believe the whole situation would have been different if he were properly treated.
The family added that Utah is not paying attention to mental health the way it should. That is why they want to spread awareness for more resources to be available.
You can visit National Alliance on Mental Illness Utah (NAMI) for more help and resources, by clicking here.
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