White House fence jumper seeks sentence of time served

By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army veteran who entered the White House with a knife should be sentenced to time served followed by supervised release, his attorney said in a court filing on Friday.

Omar Gonzalez, 43, of Cooperas Cove, Texas, is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for breaching White House security in September.

Gonzalez's attorney, federal public defender David Bos, said he should be sentenced to the nine months he has been held in jail, followed by three years of supervised release.

"Upon the conclusion of this case there is every reason to believe that Mr. Gonzalez will remain under the watchful eye of the United States Secret Service for the rest of his life," Bos wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Gonzalez is a first-time offender and decorated Iraq War veteran. He has always held a job and there is no evidence he has used illegal drugs, Bos wrote.

Gonzalez suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is undergoing mental health treatment, he said.

Federal prosecutors are seeking a 21-month sentence, saying that Gonzalez needlessly endangered White House occupants and

Secret Service officers.

Gonzalez climbed over the White House fence on Sept. 19, ran across the lawn, and pushed past a Secret Service agent guarding an entrance and went into the executive mansion.

When he was arrested, he was found to be carrying a folding

knife. He told a Secret Service agent that he needed to tell

President Barack Obama that the atmosphere was collapsing.

The Obamas were not in the White House when the incident

occurred. The breach played a part in a shake-up of the

leadership of the Secret Service.

Police discovered ammunition, a machete, knives and weapons

accessories in his truck.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty in March to entering a restricted

building while carrying a deadly weapon and assaulting a Secret

Service agent.

(Editing by Sandra Maler)