"Just like everybody I see, no matter what city I go to, I just think people are trying to kill me or something." STEPHEN RESSA FACES THREE MURDER CHARGES

Stephen Ressa is consumed by the idea of strangers plotting to kill him, according to a statement he gave to police.

"Just like everybody I see, no matter what city I go to, I just think people are trying to kill me or something," Ressa told Las Vegas homicide detectives after he was arrested on charges he drove a car onto a Strip sidewalk, an act that ended up taking three lives. "Or like they're trying to attack me or plot to kill me."

The 84-page statement was obtained by the Review-Journal last week from Ressa's defense attorneys, and it shows Ressa mentioned to detectives his paranoia about strangers at least 20 times. Ressa is charged with three counts of murder and numerous counts of attempted murder.

"Like, if I would be around and like they (strangers) would be around me, then like I'd hear 'em," Ressa said. "They'd start like talking like, just like, ah, I forget what they say, but like they be talking about guns and knives and cutting. Um, talking about me when they were talking about it, and that went on for a long, long time ... California, Arizona, wherever I go.

"They're looking at me," Ressa said. "When I notice 'em, they turn away. When I look back at 'em, they're still looking at me still. And, like, they keep all conversations real low so I can't hear 'em."

Authorities say Ressa beat and choked his mother unconscious, stole her car and came to Las Vegas from his hometown of Rialto, Calif.

On Sept. 21, police said, he drove the vehicle into the crowd of people on the Strip near Flamingo Road. Killed in the crash near Bally's resort were Gordon Kusayanagi, 52, of Hollister, Calif.; Mark Modaressi, 26, of Irvine, Calif.; and 60-year-old Richard Bradford of Renton, Wash.

Ressa was apprehended at the scene and gave the statement to Homicide Detectives Robert Rogers and Mark McNett.

Defense attorney Joe Abood of the Clark County public defender's office said Ressa's interview makes it clear Ressa is severely mentally ill.

"It shows he didn't drive up on the sidewalk because of any ill will or desire to cause carnage," Abood said. "He truly believed he was saving his own life, and it is a reaction that anyone in his position would have had.

"This is a terrible tragedy for all the victims -- something they will never understand, but he's delusional," Abood said.

Prosecutors said this week they are waiting to see the results of a defense-ordered psychological examination of Ressa. Once that is complete, prosecutors will have their own mental health experts examine him.

"Obviously it (the statement) raises some issues," prosecutor Ed Kane said. "That's why the defense is having a guy look at him, and in the meantime, we'll gather all the evidence we can."

During his interview with police, detectives grilled Ressa on whether he was looking for excuses by claiming mental illness.

"Well, how do I know that you're not just saying this stuff?" one detective asks Ressa. "You got angry at these people and you hit 'em with your car. How do I know that you're not just, ah, looking for an out?"

"Yeah, I was angry ... I'm angry that they tried to kill me," Ressa said.

Ressa told detectives he played sports much of his life and attended three different colleges. He said he was recently released from jail in San Bernardino County on a felony marijuana distribution charge, and he had also been in a rehabilitation center twice for the use of alcohol and methamphetamine.

Kane said a toxicology test has detected no alcohol or illegal drugs in Ressa's system at the time of the crash. A screen for prescription drugs in Ressa's system is still pending.

Ressa told the detectives he's taken the prescription medications Paxil and Depakote in the past, but he quit taking his medication.

Paxil is used to treat depression and general anxiety disorders and Depakote is used to treat bipolar disorder. Ressa said he's never really asked for help from mental health professionals.

Ressa claimed he doesn't remember attacking his mother, and when he drove the car on the sidewalk, he thought the people were trying to kill him. At one point, he mentions seeing "demons."

"I just remember driving down the street and like getting really nervous and like seeing people, like reach in their pockets," Ressa said. "I thought they were going to pull something, like a gun or something. And, I just got real nervous, I remember, and I just kinda blacked out.

"They were going to shoot me ... but I get real like, like, I got to the point where I just freak out now," Ressa said. "I really freak out when I see that cause I can't take it I just wanna get them to stop doing that."

When detectives told Ressa none of the victims, in fact, was trying to kill him, Ressa said he would feel bad if that was true.

"I assumed that they were trying too kill me, but at the same time I had, like I, feel like I have to, I had to do that in order to be like if I would of passed 'em up and go home and I'd see them later, if they tried to kill me, then I would have hated that," Ressa said. "So I didn't want that to happen. But I guess (if) they weren't trying to kill me, it would have been wrong."

Detectives then noted in their questioning that Ressa seemed unemotional and monotone.