The court had ordered treatment for PTSD instead of jail after Tony Klecker killed a teen in a drunk-driving accident. Last June, District Judge David Knutson gave Klecker, 30, a break in his sentencing for criminal vehicular homicide, staying a 57-month prison sentence and ordering him to serve a year in jail.

The mother of Deanna Casey, his 16-year-old Inver Grove Heights victim, had agreed to the sentence because it required Klecker, a Marine who fought in Iraq's bloodiest combat zones, to get treatment for the stress disorder.

Klecker contended the disorder caused him to drink excessively Oct. 28, 2006, when his car rammed a concrete divider into the path of the girl's car in South St. Paul. In court Wednesday, Casey's mother and a prosecutor said Klecker should be sent to prison for violating probation by getting kicked out of the VA Medical Center's in-patient program after arguing with other patients.

Veterans with PTSD undergo a three-phase program, and Klecker successfully completed Phase 1, for chemical dependency, on Oct. 12, 2007, his attorney, Brock Hunter of Minneapolis, said. Klecker was housed in the hospital waiting for a Nov. 26 opening in the second phase, which focuses on PTSD treatment. (A third phase helps with reintegration into society.)

During that wait, however, Klecker's symptoms worsened, and he became emotional around the one-year anniversary of the fatal accident, his attorney said. After the argument, he was asked to leave the hospital, although he would be allowed to participate on an out-patient basis. That, however, wouldn't meet the terms of his probation.

Wednesday, a frustrated Knutson continued the probation-violation hearing until Feb. 7, when he expects to hear testimony from VA experts about why Klecker had not received the in-patient treatment ordered. Brock said there are only 10 VA beds in Minnesota for PTSD victims, and there is often a wait. "A lot of people don't understand," said Klecker's mother, Pat Klecker of Shoreview, who is pushing for him to get more treatment. "He went into that war fine, and he came out broken. It's not just that he's an alcoholic."

Source: Joy Powell, Star Tribune