Joseph Lawrence Gulick
(PCSD file photo)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 38-year-old Stillwater man was placed on two years’ probation Tuesday for attacking a therapist at Grand Mental Health in the Cimarron Plaza on Jan. 15.
Joseph Lawrence Gulick, who admitted his guilt Tuesday, was sentenced by Associate District Judge Michael Kulling in accordance with a plea agreement with the prosecution.
Gulick was ordered to have mental health and substance abuse evaluations, follow any recommendations, take an anger management course, undergo random drug tests, do 50 hours of community service, give a DNA sample, enroll in WorkForce Oklahoma, and pay the cost of his incarceration along with $1,560 in other assessments.
Gulick, who had left the area after the incident, was arrested the next day at 2:40 am in a wooded area near 1300 S. Hester Street where he was sleeping in a tent, Stillwater Police Officer Matthew White wrote in an affidavit.
A therapist had told another officer on Jan. 15 at about 9 am “she was having a therapy session with Gulick when the assault occurred. (At 7:30 (the same day) he had assaulted other staff members. A male co-worker tried to stop the assault, and Gulick placed him in a modified guillotine chokehold. The co-worker was driven to the hospital to be treated for neck and shoulder pain. The police were not called at this time.),” an affidavit alleged.
The mental health therapist “was attempting to explain to Gulick why he could not leave the facility. He told her he was going to leave. He picked up the edge of her heavy desk and drove it towards her before flipping it over. The desk landed on her left large toe. Her toe was discolored and purple.
“He stood over her pushing and holding the desk on her foot. He stared at her blankly without saying a word. He eventually left the office and barged his way out of the facility. (Another woman) said he had also raised a closed fist at her, but just walked past her without hitting her,” the affidavit alleged.
Assault and/or battery on a medical care provider is a felony punishable by a maximum penalty of a two-year prison term and a $1,000 fine, court records show.
