MILFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Wallingford man is not guilty of robbing banks and a department store because the drug Prozac made him do it, a judge has ruled.

In a non-jury trial, Superior Court Judge Richard Arnold on Thursday found Christopher DeAngelo, 28, innocent of the 1997 robberies due to mental disease or defect.

"This is not a case of somebody pulling a fast one or being too clever," said DeAngelo's attorney, John Williams. "The hard indisputable fact of this case is that this young man was driven to commit crimes by a prescription drug."

State psychiatrists in July supported the findings of defense experts, concluding that DeAngelo's actions at the time of the robberies were linked to his Prozac intake.

DeAngelo was taking 60 mg of Prozac and a tranquilizer called Xanax to treat depression and an obsessive-compulsive disorder,which one psychiatric evaluation suggested may have been caused by Lyme disease.

Williams claimed DeAngelo was taking two to three times the amount of Prozac normally prescribed for a person in his condition when he robbed the First Union Bank in Derby on Dec. 2, 1997.

The doctors agreed that DeAngelo's mental state probably was influenced by the impairments brought on by Lyme disease coupled with an adverse reaction to his medication. The psychiatrists said DeAngelo's mental state may also have been affected by his family history of bipolar disorder and his abuse of alcohol at the time he was taking the drugs.

While Prozac and Xanax are commonly used to treat depression, psychiatrists said the drugs, when taken together and in high doses, can have "manic-like" side effects, the doctors said.

DeAngelo, who was previously free after posting bail of more than $200,000, was taken to the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown. A competency hearing will be held to determine if he should be freed or remain institutionalized. He is due back in court on April 6.

Arnold's 21-page ruling is unprecedented in Connecticut and appears to be rare nationwide. Claims based on Prozac use have been raised but rejected in Kentucky, New York and Minnesota courts over the past decade.

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