Lawyer: Driver Had 'Caffeine Psychosis'

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - A 31-year-old man was arrested on a felony charge of vehicular assault after two pedestrian men were struck on a Washington college campus. Now his lawyer is contending that he may be suffering from "caffeine psychosis," or too much coffee intake.

The Spokesman-Review reported that Daniel A. Noble, of Moscow, Wash., was allegedly driving erratically Monday morning on the Washington State University campus and struck two pedestrians - one in a crosswalk, the other on a sidewalk. The victims were taken to the hospital.

At the scene police said that Noble was uncooperative. "He was combative at the start, when we tried to take him into custody," Lt. Steve Hansen of the WSU police told The Spokesman-Review. Police used a Taser to subdue Noble.

Mark Moorer, Noble's lawyer, said Tuesday that his client was known to consume large amounts of energy drinks and Starbucks coffee. Moorer said in court that the caffeine could have accounted for Noble’s strange behavior.

Whitman County Superior Judge David Frazier ordered Noble held without bail until his mental state can be evaluated.

The Associated Press reported that Noble's wife told investigators that he started acting strangely about three days earlier, was not sleeping at night and seemed confused. During Tuesday’s hearing, Noble got up and tried to walk away from the defense table, but his lawyer pulled him back to his seat.

Following in the footsteps of the "Twinkie defense" , The Oregonian has dubbed this the "The Starbucks Defense."

KXLY-TV posted this report Monday on YouTube: