Robert Quinones: A Soldier's Story

Labor day -- September 6th, 2010 -- a man carrying a duffel bag full of weapons enters Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart and takes hostages at gunpoint.  He demanded treatment and promised to go out in a blaze of glory.  But this story didn't end in violence, and now one of those held at gunpoint hopes to draw attention to a bigger problem by telling his story, and that of the man who caused his morning of fear.  News Three shares the exclusive story of a soldier's cry for help that for too long seemed to go unanswered. In conversations with the mother of the man accused in this case, and one of the men being hailed as a hero for his actions that morning, it's important to note that neither is condoning what Robert Quinones is accused of doing.  They say they merely hope that by telling his story -- it may result in changes and help for other soldiers like him who are going through the same kinds of difficulties.

Major Sabon Shelton was the overnight supervisor at Winn Army Hospital on September 6, 2010, "I hear somebody running down the hall and knock on my door - boom, boom, boom, boom - sir! Sir! Sir!  There's a guy outside the door with a gun."  Outside the door of the third floor psychiatric care ward Major Shelton could see the man through the double doors.  As some around him started to panic, Major Shelton was told the man with the gun wanted to see him.  He took a deep breath and took what he calls the longest walk of his life, “I'll never forget when I opened those doors and I saw that gun - it was the most frightening experience I’ve ever experienced in my life."  The man was someone Major Shelton had never seen before.  29 year old Robert Quinones had not been treated at Fort Stewart.  The major introduced himself, “I'm the person in charge tonight - how can I help you? He said I need some psych now. I need a psych doctor, psych somebody. I need something right now. I'm tired of everything I’ve been going through… Every time I talk to somebody, they just throw meds at me, throw meds at me. Do you know how bad these meds make you feel? These meds make you feel horrible."

With years of experience as a psychiatric nurse, Major Shelton says he quickly realized he needed to de-escalate the situation.  He began asking Quinones about his background.  Over nearly two hours - held at gunpoint - he learned Robert Quinones had spent more than a year in Iraq as part of a Quick Reaction Force -- a company under frequent threat from snipers and IED’s.  He'd been medically retired due to the effects of post-traumatic stress syndrome, was on a variety of medications, and had been drinking that night.  Major Shelton explains, “One of the previous complaints that he had from talking was that no one listened, no one listened - I want everyone - that was a consistent theme here - no one listened - the doctors wouldn't listen, nobody would listen - so now I’m going to be heard."  And to make sure of that - in addition to the firearm he carried - Robert Quinones had entered the hospital with a duffel bag holding three more guns - a 38 and two assault rifles.  He armed himself with some of these during their conversation.  “He said I’m ready to go out in a blaze of glory right now. I'm like - no - we're not going to be going out in a blaze of glory - and I said you need counseling. If you kill me or you kill yourself, end of story - another veteran kills someone - story's over - but if you decide to put the gun down and give it to me - I promise you I’ll do what I’ve always done. I promise you if you put the gun down I will fight for you," says Major Shelton.

Robert Quinones eventually handed his weapons over and allowed Major Shelton to escort him out to waiting authorities.  One of the last things he said to the Major was "I just embarrassed my family."  But at a home not far from post - Robert Quinones' family was unaware of what was happening.  His mother Janet Gladwell describes the phone call she received a short time later, “I got a call at 11 o'clock that morning from CID asking me if I was aware of my son you know being involved in this and I said no - not my son I said - he's in his room.”   She'd thought he was sleeping but soon found out that wasn't the case, “All I could think of you know - it's like oh my gosh, oh my gosh - they don't know anything about my son.”  So she went in to talk with investigators - carrying his medical records with her to help answer questions, “What would have made somebody do this?  Take these records and you know, read this - figure it out you know - learn what he's gone through and then say you know - how could he have done this.”

She tells her story about the son from a military family - who'd signed up for the army at the age of 24 - been deployed at 25 and spent 15 months in Iraq...returning with horrible memories of being under fire, seeing more than a few friends die, and being injured himself, “He would give us bits and pieces but you know - not a lot of the bad parts.”  Robert Quinones returned from Iraq in September of '07 and seemed fine for the first couple of months - but by the first of the year had started isolating himself from family - no longer spending social time with friends as he had before.  He spent time at Fort Lewis in Washington, and then at Fort Benning...his mental state deteriorating. Ms. Gladwell says, “There were numerous suicide attempts - numerous hospitalizations.”  Over a span of more than two years and after each one - once considered stabilized - Robert Quinones was sent back to his unit to resume his duties.  His mother questions why he was never sent to a Warrior Transition Unit where he could be with other soldiers like himself and receive more intensive counseling, “Why keep him in a regular unit where you know - by this time you know - he's in 11-Bravo - which is infantry - can't carry a weapon, can't you know - be around weapons or anything like that because of the suicide attempts?”

Finally in February of 2010 - Robert Quinones is medically retired.  He moves into his family's home in Hinesville - but things seemed to go from bad to worse. “I didn't know if he'd ever reach his 30th birthday because I thought that having him come home would make a big difference, but it wasn't - I mean he tried so hard to do what was expected of him - he tried so hard to be normal…he would drive from here to Ft. Stewart - you know - but other than that - to drive to Wal-Mart or this or that - which is only a mile down the road - he was just too nervous for that.,” says Ms. Gladwell.  She describes seeing him sometimes checking the side of the road for foreign objects, “And restaurants were totally out of the question - he couldn't be around a lot of people.”

Her son's life, at the age of 29, consisted mostly of going to work, going home and going to doctor's appointments through the V.A. all over the region - meaning trips to Charleston, Augusta and Savannah. “He didn't have an appointment that I didn't take him to - he didn't miss an appointment.  We went everywhere they told us to go.  He wasn't getting any better,” says Ms. Gladwell.  She says he couldn't sleep and felt so drugged by the medications he could barely function, but she's not sure what finally caused him to break, “I've had a lot of time to you know - think back over things and try to figure out you know - how did he get to this point.”  And she doesn't know what the future holds.

As he sits in the Bulloch County Jail awaiting trial on federal charges - she keeps her son's room essentially as he left it.  A few books were confiscated by authorities from his extensive collection on war and law enforcement tactics...the remaining guns - belonging to both him and his father were taken as well, from the gun cabinets in his room...in their place - Christmas presents...a pile which continues to grow.  “I wanted it to be just like it was when he came home - that he would walk in and everything would be still in it's place.  He's gonna come home - he's gonna have Christmas, he's gonna have Easter, you know - we're not skipping any holidays,” says Janet.

She doesn't know for certain when or if he will return home...but she does know she's grateful to Major Shelton that the possibility exists, “Within 10 minutes or so, or however long it was - he was able to figure out that you know, my son, he just wanted somebody to talk to - he wanted somebody that would listen…what's so bad about all this is he doesn't remember.”  The man who spent nearly two hours talking to Robert Quinones says his experience treating soldiers with PTSD leads him to believe that *is* possible.  That Robert Quinones is a classic case - who exhibited the signs of being in a psychotic episode that morning.  And he believes many soldiers he's treated over the years could easily be in Robert Quinones' place.  That's why he promised to fight for the man who held him at gunpoint that morning.  That's why he's keeping his word.  “There's a lot of broken soldiers - there's a lot of invisible injuries you know.  People don't see - just because a soldier's walking and they see no visible wounds - they think he's fine - but he's not.  There are more wounds, “ says Major Shelton.

Emotional and psychological wounds Janet Gladwell has seen up close and personal.  Now she hopes against hope that her son can reclaim his life, “Just get him into therapy you know.  Just get somebody that can help him to get all this out so that he'll you know, he can learn to live with it and you know - so he can get to a point where he wants to live.”

Janet gladwell says her son had no prior criminal record and some of his former commanders and fellow soldiers have written character letters in support of him that she hopes the court will consider.  He is being held in the Bulloch County Jail under custody of the US Marshals while he awaits trial.  In addition to kidnapping and assault of a federal officer, Quinones has also been charged with threatening to kill President Obama and former President Clinton during an interview with investigators.  Major Shelton says Quinones made none of those threats during their time together.