Police Called To Grace Drive

First on PutnamLIES.com...
Halburn Returns With A Vengeance

On Tuesday night, March 27, Hurricane police were called to the home of the second ex-wife of Mark Halburn.

Apparently Halburn had returned from the dumpster he sleeps in in South Carolina and showed up at her door and caused a scene.
Halburn is in the middle of a messy divorce. So messy in fact, that no judge in Putnam County will hear the case. It has been assigned to Judge Mike Kelly in Kanawha County.
Halburn was not taken into custody.

Obviously in the three weeks he has been in South Carolina he never found a job, or if he did he's already been fired from it, if he can take off at the beginning of a week and drive over 420 miles and 7 hours just to harass his second ex-wife.

We predict more of this type of behavior in the future.

This is not Halburn's first brush with the law. He has been arrested on numerous charges ranging from trespassing to felony strong arm robbery. He has escaped several more by fleeing the scene before he was taken into custody.

Halburn is a large obese man, and his court ordered mental evaluation suggests that he has the propensity for aggressive behavior and that any threats made by him should be taken seriously and dealt with appropriately.PutnamLIES.com holds no animosity for his second ex-wife. Nobody wishes any harm or ill will to her or her son. The only time she needs to worry is when Mark Halburn is in town.
We know she was put in an extremely difficult position. We applaud her for doing the right thing and getting herself and her child away from this sociopath.
She and her son have our sympathy. We invite her to contact us and tell her story.

We warn his second ex-wife to keep her son away from this animal. He's exactly the type to take a child for visitation and disappear. He should see the child under supervised visitation only.
We also warn her that the most dangerous time for a woman going through a divorce is just before it becomes final.
So just keep it up fatboy. Just remember that West Virginia is a castle doctrine state.

Top 10 Reasons The Flood Insurance Story is Bullshit

'

FEMA Requires Flood Insurance
Winfield Resident Bitches About Paying

Crusading out-of-state douchebag Mark Hallburn is
playing his tiny violin to accompany Winfield homeowner Kenneth T. "Buddy" Davidson's whining about being required to carry flood insurance for his home.

Halburn gets it wrong right from the start when he writes:
"As you can see from the Google Earth image, Davidson's home is down the Kanawha River from the locks, just east of Winfield High School."

Wrong again, lumpy. Davidson's house is UPSTREAM from the locks. A fact you might know if you actually lived in West Virginia.

I don’t know where to start with this one…I’ll just take ‘em in order with a Top 10 list.

1. The homeowner is a little less than 3 miles by river upstream of the Winfield Lock, 2.25 miles as the crow flies; not “a block”.





2. If you live near a lock, by definition you live near a river. Wouldn’t any sane person living near a river be concerned about flooding? It’s not like it’s never happened before in West Virginia.

3. The letter is from his lien holder, not FEMA. FEMA only requires flood insurance if you have a federally backed mortgage loan – if you own your home you are not required by the government to have flood insurance.

4. Taxpayers are subsidizing his loan, why can’t they protect their investment from risk in a high risk area?

5. Being that close to a river means the risk of flooding is high; probably higher than his risk of fire. Yet no one complains about paying for fire insurance.

6. Navigation structures DO NOT offer any flood reduction measures; they only maintain a pool for navigation.

7. If there were any flood storage at a lock (again, there isn’t) he is UPSTREAM of the lock where the water would be stored, INCREASING his risk of flooding.

8. When this property floods, you can be assured the homeowner would be demanding a federal bailout from the same FEMA he is complaining about.

9. When this house was bought, the flood risk was apparent to any casual observer. Crying to legitimate media apparently didn’t work so the owner is definitely trying an “alternative” source.

10. The Publisher only said that he called FEMA; more information is needed about where he called, what number, what time he called, etc., etc. He’s been known to make late night calls and act surprised and indignant that no one answered him.

Putnam County places the assessed value of "Buddy's" home at $85,440. Which means the appraised value is $142,400.



It took us all of 5 minutes to find this flood zone map. You could have gotten off your dead ass and done the same thing before buying the house, "Buddy".
Flood insurance on a home of that value is less than a hundred bucks a month.
If that extra C note is going to break you, you've got no business being in that house in the first place. Quit your whining and pay up, pal.

As for you, Halburn, you don't even live in West Virginia. Why should anyone care what you think?
When are you going to stop playing reporter and go away?

Not Edwards' Job To Run Hurricane Marketplace

Mayor Has No Responsibility To Help Strugging Retail Center

The Hurricane Marketplace opened in March of 2007 after
the Putnam County Development Authority sold the land to developer Tricor International Corporation and they completed construction

Through the years, Hurricane Marketplace has filled many of its storefronts with poorly capitalized, poorly managed locally owned businesses. Many of those small businesses have come and gone.



None of this is Mayor Scott Edwards' fault.
It is not Scott Edwards' job to solve the problem of vacancies there. 
He's the mayor not a real estate agent.

Out-of state hate blog publisher Mark Halburn says Edwards doesn't have a plan, that he's flip-flopping and leaving the shopping center on its own. The fact is Edwards doesn't need a plan. It's not his job.

Neither is it the job of the PCDA. It has done its job. They sold the land to Tricor who built the Hurricane Marketplace. 

It's now the developer's job to attract tenants. Why aren't you harassing them?

Here's a thought. How much is the rent at Hurricane Market Place? Most likely it is overpriced in this economy. Maybe potential merchants feel the rents are too high. The size of the store fronts vacant there would represent a small business or mall type store. Those stores are not opening right now. Potential customers do not have the disposable income until the economy rebounds.

Why aren't you harassing Tricor? They manage the property.
It's not the Mayor's problem to solve. Do you not understand this? How much government do you want? Do you just want government to do everything for you? Maybe you haven't noticed, but the economy is SHOT! There is no recovery taking place. Unemployment numbers are cooked through little tricks like not including people unemployed for more than 12 months. Real unemployment is closer to 15% or better and it's sky high for 18-35 year olds who lack experience, regardless of education level.

The only thing government CAN and SHOULD be able to do is lure business by creating an environment that stimulates growth, the rest is up to a number of other variables. Entitleists like you are the reason that America is in the shape it is in today.  
You are dumber than a bag of hammers.

Why is it that you always have complaints, but never a single viable, realistic solution? Moron.

Halburn has moved out of the state, but continues to harass Mayor Edwards via text. It's OK for him to send texts to Mayor Edwards with inane ideas, but when Mayor Edwards sends Halburn texts Halburn calls them "harassment text messages."

When PutnamLIES.com asked Mayor Edwards about any plans he told us, "I have no plans for the Marketplace because it is a private business. Private businesses make their own decisions on who they rent to, how much the rent is, etc. As the Mayor, I do what I am supposed to do. If Halburn is such a brilliant businessman, why didn't he buy it and rent it cheap or whatever he thought he should do to get it rented? He never paid his B&O taxes the entire time he lived here anyway. Halburn should simply not worry about what the owners of Hurricane Marketplace do or how they conduct their business. He doesn't even live here anymore. His opinion doesn't matter at all."

Halburn also admits that he comes from a long line of drunks and mental defectives. He doesn't trust himself to stop once he starts drinking. As you can see from his appearance he obviously has no self control.

Halburn says more businesses mean more B&O taxes for the city. That's funny considering Halburn NEVER paid one dime of B&O taxes to the City of Hurricane in his entire residence here, despite having his office in and running his business from his second ex-wife's house.

Halburn then makes more ludicrous suggestions on how to run the business and the town.



He continues to beat the dead horse of having the PCDA to donate its land above Dollar Tree for a park. Except as PutnamLIES.com has pointed out previously, this takes commercial property off the tax rolls forever.
Which means the taxpayers lose twice.

If it wasn't his idea and the PCDA did something like that, he'd criticize them for throwing the public's money away by giving away a piece of property that was to be used for development.

 

Halburn then gets to his solution for everything. Buy his second ex-wife's property.

Then he starts on us. "A "trash blog" that some say is funded by Edwards calls the empty storefronts a "national problem" caused by the recession. This isn't true. In Ashland, Kentucky, Barboursville, Nitro, Princeton, South Point, Ohio, and South Ridge, retail stores next to Walmarts have filled the shopping centers and are doing great levels of business. Hurricane stands alone with this problem."

Some say this site is funded by Edwards? Some say? YOU say. If you have any evidence of that, prove it. Show us your evidence.
There is none, except what exists in your own fevered imagination.
You've made the same allegation in the past except then it was Joe Haynes that was doing the funding. Which is it? Joe or Scott? Or both?

How about neither?
Because that's what the real truth is. We get absolutely no money from anybody to do this. It costs nothing for us to run this site. Nothing.
Maybe someone called "Wendy James" from "People Against Cyber Bullies" told you that she was able to find the site registered to some name we made up in Hurricane and she was researching bank transfers. That was bullshit, because that was us too. You got taken in again, you cocksucker.

You're just angry that we helped your second ex-wife see exactly what kind of beast you really are and she threw you out.
How many of those shopping centers have had local businesses open stores there in the last 5 years? Then you say Hurricane is the only place that has this problem.

You're delusional Halburn. This problem has nothing to do with Scott Edwards or the PCDA, shithead. This problem IS national. With your boy Obama running the economy into the toilet, malls across the country have vacant storefronts. Almost double the vacancy rate of 6 years ago. The economy is in the shitter.
Why don't you admit what your REAL agenda is?
You hope it will make the value of your second ex-wife's property increase .
Before the Walmart was built, and without authority to do so, you refused an offer for that property thinking you could hold out for more money. You were wrong and now she's stuck with a piece of land no one wants.

Your vendetta against Edwards and the PCDA stems from this.

Your only concern with the vacancy rate is that it lessens the non-existant demand for your second ex-wife's property.
If the vacancy rate was 0%, you'd be complaining about the excessive noise all of the traffic generated.
The ONLY reason you want to see more development is to make your second ex-wife's property more valuable in hopes of getting a cut from a big profit. Period.
Remember the church and the video gaming club that called you about locating there last April? Look at what date it was. April 1! Did you seriously think that was real? It was us, and you printed it, dummy!
How about that Denny's that you assured your (29) readers that was to be built? How's the breakfast there?
Oh yeah. That's right. It hasn't been built.

This isn't about stupid politicians. It's about one stupid, self centered, entitleist and that's Mark Hallburn.

Perhaps if YOU were not constantly reporting such negative stories about Hurricane more companies would be more willing to locate here.

A guy that can't find or hold a real job has no right to tell anyone how to run their business.
______________________________________________________

WE WIN!

MARK HALBURN IS GONE!

Even though Halburn has left the state, he doesn't have a job in North or South Carolina. He claims he will work on PutnumLive.com from down south.

No matter, PutnamLIES.com will be here one day longer than his cluttered hate blog.

Get The Fuck Out Of Town!

Monday, 2:30 PM Update:
One Set Of Flip Flops In The Snow

It's 30 degrees, the wind is blowing, it's snowing and Shitbag is wearing shorts and sandals.
He nearly busted his ass twice on the U-haul ramp.

We'll have updates when they are available.

Monday, 7:30 PM Update:
Mark Halburn has finally fled West Virginia. He stopped at City Hall tonight (in the moving van) and told City Manager Ben Newhouse he was "out of here". And during the City Council meeting, he texted Mayor Scott Edwards with "adios". He was then seen heading towards Charleston in his U-Haul. Exactly as PutnamLIES.com predicted. Slinking away in the night like a whipped dog.
It's time to celebrate in Hurricane!

Tuesday 9:45 PM Update: 
West Virginia police agencies have received calls from an officer with the South Carolina Capitol Police asking questions about Halburn. It appears that he has been harassing the shit out of all kinds of people at the SC Capitol. They were told what we have all been through dealing with the moron over the past 5 years. The WV officer also offered his condolences to the State of SC.

PutnamLIES.com can confirm that the State of South Carolina, the State of North Carolina, the State of North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission AND the US Department of Homeland Security have all visited here searching for information about Mark Halburn.

Thousands Of Animals Put To Death - Joe Haynes Had Nothing To Do With Any Of Them

When Putnam County Commissioner Joe Haynes voted to move forward with the new Putnam County Animal Shelter, he made a point of saying that when he took office he became aware of the terrible condition of the current Putnam Animal Relief Center.

The current shelter is nearly 30 years old, overcrowded and in disrepair. During Haynes' February 14th, 2012 comments, he made the point that replacing the shelter is his priority. 

Halburn blames the numbers of euthaniasias on Commissioner Haynes. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

None of this is Joe Haynes' fault.

Halburn filed yet another in a long string of Freedom of Information Act requests to find out how many animals were put to death at the PARC during Haynes' seven years as commissioner.
We didn't have to file a FOIA to get the same numbers. According to a phone call we made, in 2009, 1743 animals were euthanized. In 2010 - 1866. In 2011 - 2087.
What do these numbers mean? They mean more animals were taken in. The percentage of animals put to sleep stayed virtually the same.

Halburn says the numbers are troubling, and they are. But what he doesn't tell you is that the exact thing happens at virtually every shelter in the country. Far more animals are euthanized than adopted.
It is a shelter's goal to find homes for 100% of adoptable animals, but unfortunately there are many animals that come through the doors that may be unadoptable for a variety of reasons.
Many animals that are received are injured, have serious disease or other major health issues, or are aggressive. In many cases, the most humane solution for these animals is to euthanize them. These are policies shared by the ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States, and the American Humane Association, among others. Sometimes, in extreme overcrowding situations, animals are euthanized due to space.
The employees of the shelter are not bloodthirsty ghouls. They have a hard job. They don't want to put these animals down, but there is no other choice.



The new Putnam County Animal Shelter will be able to hold about twice as many animals as the PARC, which means that the numbers of euthanizations will probably go up even more. Sad, but true.
Kanawha County puts 200-300 animals to sleep every month.



The new shelter, near Eleanor, will be completed in 2013, giving Putnam County a first class facility in which to care for animals.

The only animal that needs to be put to sleep in this case is Mark Halburn.

Related article: 
New Animal Shelter: Halburn Gets Nothing!

Mark Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Halburn's Gone, But His Psych Report Lives On

The court ordered mental evaluation that Halburn underwent has been out there for some time but since it is an exhibit in the lawsuit and it's so good, we thought we'd say what the fuck and include it as well.

Special thanks go out to Attorney Mary Sanders of Huddleston Bolen, LLC for making the psychological evaluation and deposition part of her motion so it became public record.
You, Counselor, are a genius.
And thanks also to Attorney Mike Clifford for attaching his letter firing Halburn as a client to his Motion To Withdraw.

The bold type is ours.
As always, our comments appear in red. Leave your comments at the end.

Download the entire file here.


Exhibit D

PsyCare Comprehensive Mental Health Services

Suite C
4825 MacCorkle Avenue, SW
South Charleston, WV 25309-1331
(301) 768-6170 Phone
(304) 768-2099 Fax

FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION

NAME: Mark Halburn
SSN: XXX-XX-6201
DATE OF BIRTH: 11.17.61
CASE#: 07-C-198
COUNTY: Putnam (West Virginia)
REFERRAL SOURCE: Mary Sanders, Attorney-at-Law Huddleston Bolen, LLC
TESTS ADMINISTERED: Computerized Assessment of Response Bias (CARB);
Word Memory Test (WMT); Structured Inventory of Malingering Symptomatology (SIMS); Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI); Trail Making Test; Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)
PSYCHIATRIST: Daniel Thistlethwaite, M.D.
PSYCHOLOGIST: Steven Dreyer, Ph.D.
PSYCHOMETRICIAN: Amy Rochette, B.A.
DATE OF EVALUATION: 09.11.08

QUALIFICATONS OF EXAMINER(S):

Daniel B. Thistlethwaite, M.D.
1). Diplomate American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology, June 1933, Certificate # 37883.
2). WV License # 15674, issued 11114/88.
3). Diplomate American Board of Forensic Examiners, Certificate # 2622.
4). Diplomate American Board of Forensic Medicine.
5). Member American Psychiatric Association.
6). Member American Academy of Psychiatry & the Law.
7). Assistant Clinical Profession, Department of Psychiatry, West Virginia University School of Medicine.
8). Past Co-Medical Director Forensic Unit, South Central Regional Jail.
9). Consultant to West Virginia Department of Corrections and West Virginia Division of Juvenile Services.

Steven F. Dreyer, Ph.D.
1). Director of Psychological and Neuropsychological Services, PsyCare, Inc.
2). Neuropsychological Consultant, Charleston Area Medical Center Department of Rehabilitation Medicine.
3). Clinical Associate Professor, West Virginia University Department of Behavioral
Medicine and Psychiatry.
4). Diplomate in Neuropsychology, American Board of Psychological Specialties.
5). Fellow, American College of Advanced Practice Psychologists.
6). Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, American Board of Psychological Specialties.
7). Listed in National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.
8). Member of American Psychological Association, West Virginia Psychological
Association, International Neuropsychological Society, and National Academy of Neuropsychology.
9). Past President, West Virginia Psychological Association.
10). Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Dakota.
11). Licensed psychologist in the state of West Virginia, License # 175.
12). Member American College of Forensic Examiners.

RECORDS REVIEW:
1). Complaint;
2). Halburn's Web Blog (12/06-09/08);
3). Medical Records of Mark Halburn (1 Volume);
4). Motion for Leave to Withdraw (with June 24, 2008 letter from Michael T Clifford to Mark Halburn and Delores Halburn;
5). Deposition Transcript of Mark Halburn;
6). Workers' Compensation Records of Mark Halburn.

EXERPTS FROM RECORDS:
1). The Complaint filed on August 28, 2007, accuses the defendants of exposing the plaintiff to blasting, excessive exposures to lights, excessive smoke, and excessive expo­sure to noise.

2). In a Motion to Withdraw, dated June 24, 2008, in a letter addressed to Mark and Delores Halburn, Mr. Clifford stated "I no longer have the patience to put up with the in­sufferable complaining and inability to see legal nuances involving these cases. The fact that you once were offered a buy-out but refused it because you thought the property would have more value after the completion of Wal-Mart is both troubling and inconsis­tent with the argument that you need to move."

3). Deposition of Mark Halburn, on Pages 56 and 57, Mr. Halburn alleges that Kanawha Stone Company "made our life a living hell and refused to do anything legal about it", referring to the blasting during construction. On Page 84, he notes that his wife and her mother purchased their house for $40,000, in 1992. On Page 87, he reports that they are asking $350,000 for their house and then on Page 88, it is quoted, "I've been told and I believe that our neighbors are using Wal-Mart and expecting to make a huge amount of money and, you know." Mr. Halburn made the claim that a Cleveland Construction em­ployee was backing up a piece of equipment at 4:23 in the morning, causing him to awaken. Later in the deposition, on Page 150, he noted that they live approximately 90 seconds from the Interstate. He contends that had Cleveland Construction not built the Wal-Mart it would not have been built and he holds them accountable for such things as the traffic now going to Wal-Mart, car alarms going off in the Wal-Mart parking lot that he hears, and the sweeper that cleans the Wal-Mart parking lot at 12:15 in the morning.

4). The Halburn Blog: On December 26, 2006, Mr. Halburn indicated that he was awakened by lights coming through his upstairs window at 6:35. He proceeded to make phone calls to Mayor Peak and Scott Edwards, indicating that both of them were sleeping when his call was made. On January 11, 2007, Mr. Halburn references his arrest on tele­phone harassment charges by the Hurricane Police Department. On January 20, 2007, he comments, "Buy us out and move us and I won't have to do a blog called "Living With Wal-Mart Construction." On June 13, 2007, he comments, [referring to Scott Ed­wards], "He should buy us out and develop the rest of the hill, then everyone would win." Mr. Halburn wrote on a near daily blog about the construction, complaining of the noise and lights coming from the construction site and personally attacks individuals that send e-mails with a differing opinion. Mr. Halburn blogged for well over a year, complaining of excessive noise, initially from the construction of Wal-Mart and, upon completion of the construction, to complain about the "excessive traffic noise" now emanating from the Wal-Mart.

5). Medical Records of Mark Halburn:
a). On hospital admission to Putnam General Hospital on July 28, 2006, Mr. Halburn was seen by Enrique SanAna, M.D., and patient gave a his­tory of sleep apnea for two years with the use of a C-PAP machine.
b). On July 31, 2006, Mr. Halburn had a cardiac catheterization which was unremarkable.
c). During a 23-hour observation admission at St. Mary's Hospital in Au­gust 2006, the nurse noted, "Patient aggressively demanding to be dis­charged. He asked for the Attending or General Surgeon to 'come right now' to discharge him." It was earlier noted, "Called to room per patient. I introduced myself and asked what I could do for him. The patient began complaining about the previous 24 hours and what he had been involved with. His complaints began prior to admission with radiology and have continued until present. He became very demanding, insisting that I get him a big screen TV and a lap top computer. I explained to him that I was unable to do that he became angry and demanded to speak to my boss." During his hospitalization he refused timed cardiac isoenzymes as well as other labs.

At the beginning of this evaluation, Mark Halburn was advised of the nonconfidentiality and voluntary nature of the evaluation and that he had the right to refuse to answer any questions that he chose not to answer. He was further informed that any information pro­vided had the potential of being included in a written report and/or discussed in a court­room setting. (Or posted on the internet) He was informed that this evaluation was for forensic purposes only and that no treatment would be offered. Mr. Halburn's understanding of the conditions of this evaluation was confirmed and his consent to proceed was obtained.

Mr. Halburn was provided a copy of the Consent Form to proceed with the evaluation. Mr. Halburn initially made multiple changes by writing on the form and insisting he would not sign it until these changes were agreed to. Mr. Halburn was informed that no changes would be made to the consent agreement and that he had a right to refuse to pro­ceed, however, he was also advised that this was a court ordered examination and that there could be potential consequences if he refused to proceed. At that time, Mr. Halburn became quite hostile, aggressive, and verbally abusive towards staff and the examiner. He demanded to speak with the attorney from whom the original referral was made. Af­ter discussing with the attorney via telephone, he eventually did agree to all terms of the consent and proceeded with the examination.

HISTORY: Mr. Halburn was very reluctant to provide much history although does note that he had been examined as a child by a psychiatrist and noted that he was taken there, by his report, because his mother was concerned that he cried too much. He recalled that this occurred at age five to eight and recalled vaguely that he was prescribed Ritalin. He could not provide any other specific details of any diagnosis or other treatment specifics. Mr. Halburn did recall that when he attended college he later returned to the psychiatrist who had examined him previously to question as to why he had been treated. He relates that the psychiatrist told him he, essentially,was seen because of his mother's psychiatric illness.

Since that time, Mr. Halburn denies any psychiatric treatment except for recently being provided Lexapro, 10 mgs daily, by his primary care physician (Dr. Santana).

CURRENT PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS: Mr. Halburn complains of poor sleep and notes that this is because "there is so much noise from cars going up and down the road," He also complains that his sleep has been disrupted for some time due to construction at the shopping center which was being built adjacent to his home. He also complains that he cannot enjoy his life because his home is no longer peaceful. He complains of traffic noise, lights, and highway noise that he says he previously could not hear.

Mr. Halburn does not describe any other significant vegetative symptoms that would suggest depression.

Stressors include litigation and conflict with contractors assigned to build the shopping plaza adjacent to his home. He also believes that he has been targeted by the authorities in his county because he has made complaints and also has a website on which he posts information criticizing them. He believes there has been a conspiracy amongst the county administration and other political powers. He made several statements during the interview that there were "ethics violations" and believes that laws are being manipulated in a way which harms him. Mr. Halburn also notes that he has conflict with his neighbors, whom he described as "idiots." He complains that they have set a selling price for their homes so high that it is preventing the sale of his own home. (This is his ultimate desire so that he can leave the area). (Notice that he doesn't say anything about his second ex-wife's home. Who do you think set that price? We're guessing it's not someone with their name on the deed)
Mr. Halburn also reports that he dislikes his current job stating, "I can't stand the job." He notes that he currently works for a customer call center and also occasionally substi­tute teaches in social studies and journalism.

When Mr. Halburn was asked to describe what specific psychological damages he has suffered, he mentioned noise, inconvenience, being arrested, and feeling as if he is being harassed.

PAST MEDICAL HISTORY: Initially, Mr. Halburn refused to provide medical infor­mation but later did report that he has been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and hyper­tension. Medical records also indicate that he had a cardiac catheterization due to com­plaints of chest pain. Records also document sleep apnea.

CURRENT MEDICATIONS: Benicar; Lexapro; and an unknown medication for his diabetes. (Mr. Halburn did admit that he checks his blood sugar rather infrequently al­though notes he has also been recently working with a personal trainer and has lost ap­proximately 30 pounds, with diet and exercise, to help control his diabetes).

FAMILY HISTORY: Mr. Halburn's mother, by his report, was "suicidal for years." She, reportedly, was hospitalized a number of times for psychiatric symptomatology. Mr. Halburn believes that she may have suffered from bipolar illness but does not know her specific diagnosis. He reports that his maternal great grandfather had alcohol problems. He also reported a paternal grandfather with alcohol problems and a paternal grand­mother who was "in and out of mental hospitals and abused by my grandfather." Mr. Halburn also later stated that his sister had psychiatric problems reporting "she's nuts." He reports he is not aware of any diagnosis or treatment but describes her as having had multiple abortions, having abused methamphetamine, and having had multiple legal prob­lems.

PSYCHOSOCIAL HISTORY: Mr. Halburn was reluctant to provide any information about his upbringing. He notes that he has a bachelor's of arts degree from California State University, Fullerton in communications. He has one older sister, with whom he has a distant relationship. He did not provide information regarding his father. He notes his mother is still living and resides in an extended care facility in California. (He did allude to the fact that that he, essentially, grew up in California noting, "Where I'm from in California this kind of stuff wouldn't happen").
Mr. Halburn is married to Delores Halburn and they have one child. He reports no other marriages or other children.

MENTAL STATUS EXAMINATION: Mr. Halburn is moderately obese. (Moderately? C'mon.) He was appropriately dressed and groomed. (Shorts, sandals, t-shirt without gravy stains?) He was, essentially, uncooperative, extremely hostile, and verbally aggressive intermittently throughout the interview. He was specifically ag­gressive toward assistant staff in the office, as well as the examiner. He was alert and oriented in four spheres. His stream of thought was relevant and coherent when he was not agitated, however, he was noted to be somewhat tangential and rambling when dis­tressed. His mood was agitated at times, although at times he displayed neutrality of mood. His affect was moderately labile. He denied suicidal or homicidal thinking. He denied psychotic symptomatology. He did not display symptoms suggestive of a psy­chotic process. His personality style was rather narcissistic and self-centered. Cognitive Functioning -memory was intact to recent and remote testing. He was able to complete serial sevens without difficulty. He was able to spell words forward and in reverse. He was able to abstract proverbs without difficulty. Judgment was intact to hypothetical testing although clinically, based on record review, appears to be rather impulsive. His insight was significantly limited.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST RESULTS
As part of the comprehensive Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation, Mr. Halburn was adminis­tered a series of objective psychological tests to assist in differential diagnosis and case disposition. Results are as follows:
Validity Measures:
The Computerized Assessment of Response Bias (CARB) was administered as an ob­jective measure of response bias tendencies, including those of symptom exaggeration and/or malingering of cognitive deficits. Mr. Halburn obtained a score within the "Good Effort" range, indicating that he attended carefully to the task and performed at a level consistent with well motivated, normal control groups and well motivated persons with brain injuries. Results were not suggestive of response bias on this particular instrument.

The Word Memory Test (WMT) was administered as an additional objective measure of response bias tendencies. Mr. Halburn obtained a score within the "Extreme Exag­geration" range. Three separate measures on the WMT which are sensitive to response bias were below the normal range and provided strong evidence of systematic response bias. Mr. Halburn has responded in a fashion which is consistent with a pattern obtained by individuals attempting to simulate cognitive deficits. It is considered highly unlikely that even and individual who has sustained severe brain damage would perform this poorly in the absence of symptom exaggeration or malingering issues.

The Structured Inventory of Malingering Symptomatology (SIMS) was administered as a measure of tendencies toward symptom exaggeration and/or malingering of specific psychiatric symptomatology. Mr. Halburn obtained a score within normal limits and, as such, there was no evidence of blatant symptom exaggeration and/or malingering of psy­chiatric symptoms.
In summary, mixed results were obtained on the validity measures. The significant dis­parity between the CARB and WMT results are suggestive of significant variability in motivation and effort involved on measures of cognitive capacities. As such, it is consid­ered likely that findings on concurrently administered measures of cognitive ability are not reflective of optimal performance. Conversely, the findings on the SIMS suggest that Mr. Halburn was not blatantly exaggerating or malingering specific psychiatric symptomatology.

Cognitive Measures:
It is the psychological evaluator's understanding that Mr. Halburn arrived over an hour late for the scheduled testing and, as such, time limitations required an abbreviated test administration. For example, on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI), time limitations allowed for only the completion of the Expressive Vocabulary subtest. Mr. Halburn obtained a subtest score within average parameters, a finding which would be consistent with educational and vocational background.

The Trail Making Test was administered as a measure of visual scanning, visual motor processing speed, and serves as a gross measure of cognitive flexibility and executive functioning. Mr. Halburn was capable of numerical sequencing as well as alternating al­phabetical and numerical sequencing within normal time limits. Findings suggest that visual scanning and visual motor processing speed are within normal limits for his chronological age. In addition he demonstrated the capacity to shift and maintain the shift in learning set with minimal tendencies toward perseveration. As such, cognitive flexibility and executive functioning were assessed to be grossly intact.

Personality Assessment:
An objective personality assessment was conducted utilizing the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). The resulting validity indices were within ranges permitting interpretation of the clinical profile pattern. Findings were not suggestive of the presence of an Axis I clinical syndrome, as subscales measuring endorsement of symptoms related to a mood disorder (i.e., anxiety and depression) or a thought disorder (i.e., psychotic symptom patterns) were not significantly elevated. However, findings were suggestive of the presence of an Axis II or Personality Disorder. Scales assessing anger, hostility, paranoid ideation, and agitation were all significantly elevated. Restruc­tured clinical scale profile patterns revealed significant elevations correlated with cyni­cism and ideas of persecution. Content scale elevations reveal acknowledgment of fa­milial and marital distress along with aggressive tendencies. The potential for acting out on aggressive impulses is considered a possibility.

Results of objective psychological testing are to be utilized in conjunction with the com­prehensive psychiatric assessment with finding placed within the appropriate clinical context.

IMPRESSION:
Axis I: Malingering. Significant symptom exaggeration was noted on psychological instruments designed to assess for exaggeration of cognitive deficits.
Axis II: Personality Disorder, not otherwise specified, with narcissistic and paranoid traits.
Axis III: Hypertension; Diabetes Mellitus; Sleep Apnea.
Axis IV: Psychosocial Stressors -Litigation.
Axis V: Current GAF -estimated at 60 to 65 with chronic impairment due to personality disorder.

DISCUSSION: There is no evidence that Mark Halburn suffers from a psychiatric illness as a result of any stress created by construction of a shopping center which is in the proximity of his home. Mr. Halburn has been distressed, upset, and angered by what he perceives as improper due process and believes that he is the target of the authorities. All of this is the result of a severe personality disorder which predates any of the alleged stressors.
It should be noted that Mr. Halburn's psychological profile and behavior would suggest that he has propensity for aggressive behavior. No history of overt violence is found, however, given his degree of agitation and volatility noted during our examination, any threats made by Mr. Halburn should be taken seriously and dealt with appropriately.


The opinions in this report are stated to a reasonable degree of medical probability in the field of forensic psychiatry. These opinions may be amended should additional records be received and an additional report will be provided upon request.

Thank you for this referral. If you have questions regarding this evaluation and/or report, please feel free to contact this office.


Daniel B. Thistlethwaite, M.D.
Diplomate American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology
Diplomate American Board of Forensic Examiners
Fellow American College of Forensic Medicine
DBT/mw


You can download the entire mental evaluation here.

RELATED ARTICLES: 
The Lyin' King 
The Chronicles Of Markia
The Chronicles Of Markia 2
The Chronicles Of Markia 3
The Chronicles Of Markia 4
The Chronicles Of Markia 5
The Full Deposition