Iraq War Vet Tasered During Arrest

Deputies were in the neighborhood on another matter when they met up with John Wylie Needham, age 25. The condo resident was naked and out of control. It took multiple deputies and the use of the non-lethal Taser, to subdue him enough to take him into custody.

Deputies found Needham’s nineteen-year-old life-in girlfriend in the condo when they conducted a search. Her face had been severely beaten. She was unconscious and had “obvious trauma to the face.” The victim, whose name was not released immediately, was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

According to Army spokesman Master Sergeant Keith O’Donnell, the suspect retired from the Army after two years for medical reasons. Needham, who received a Purple Heart because of an injury he sustained in combat last year, is characterized by his brother, Matt Needham, as “unstable” since he returned from the Iraq theatre.

“He’s been no good since he got back,” the brother said. “I never saw this coming, but I’ll tell you what, with my brother…the mental state he’s in since Iraq, nothing would surprise me.”

“He’s been really mentally unstable for the past few months,” said Matt Needham. “I knew that if they didn’t break up the proper way that, you know, it could be a bad breakup but no one figures a bad breakup is like this.”

Local officials say that Needham is held at the Orange County Jail in lieu of one million dollars’ bond while he is under investigation in the matter.