TAMPA, Fla. - Last time we saw Mikese Morse, he was being sent to a state hospital for treatment after being found incompetent to stand trial for murder. Now he's out of the hospital, but his family says he still needs help.
Morse is accused of mowing down a father and his two sons who were out for a bike ride. The father, 42-year-old Pedro Aguerreberry died of his injuries. His kids survived.
Just days before the crash, Morse went looking for help for his mental issues. He ended up at a Tampa police substation, telling an officer he was going to hurt someone.
The police officer had Morse taken in for evaluation under the Baker Act, but soon he was out on the street, posting bizarre rants on social media.
Morse’s mother, Khadeesha Morse says her son needs a hospital bed, not a jail cell.
"Here we can disrupt the progress that he’s making to let him sit in the jail again and this is how we got here in the first place, so we want him to go back to the facility to continue the treatment that it is clearly helping," said Morse.
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Parents want treatment, not jail for son
Gloria Gomez reports
His parents say their son is getting better with treatment, which they say they wanted for him a decade ago.
His father, Michael Morse explained, "We are dealing with a system that is broken in so many ways. Seeing my son today just reinforced what I always knew that, had he gotten treatment upfront, he would have never done this."
Morse is back in court in March.
Previous coverage:
- Judge: Accused hit-and-run killer not competent for trial
- Judge orders mental health evaluation of man who allegedly hit dad, 2 children
- In outburst, accused hit-and-run killer confesses to unrelated murder
- Defendant's mother interrupts court to ask for mental healthcare for son
- Accused hit-and-run killer's rant: "It's the devil's fault"
- Police: Hit-and-run suspect intentionally crashed into family, killing father
- Ride honors memory of cyclist hit and killed in New Tampa
- Suspect in crash that killed bicyclists attacked previous attorney, records show
- Man Baker-Acted 2 weeks before hitting bike-riding family
- Community mourns father targeted in hit-and-run crash
- Dozens cycle in memory of New Tampa hit-and-run victim
- Court tries to determine Morse's mental fitness
- Man, accused of running over family, settles on private attorney