Currently in custody at the Montezuma County jail, a homeless man who claimed to be a combat veteran was discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2008 after boot camp.<\/p>\n
Military records obtained by The Journal reveal that Kai Blood, 26, was arrested for cocaine use while on leave on Feb. 5, 2008 and discharged as a reservist with the Marines about four months later.<\/p>\n
\u201cPvt. Blood has demonstrated that he does not possess those qualities needed to serve honorably in the Marine Corps,\u201d commanding officer N.F. Pugliese wrote in 2008 recommending a dishonorable discharge.<\/p>\n
Last week, Blood\u2019s defense attorney, Katie Whitney, argued at a sentencing hearing that her client suffered from mental-health issues after serving two combat tours in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Blood was subsequently sentenced to 90 days in jail with credit for time served after pleading guilty to felony menacing stemming from a knife fight inside a Cortez residence in March. The court also ordered Blood to obtain mental health treatment from the Veterans Administration.<\/p>\n
According to Whitney, Blood was diagnosed with mental-health disorders in 2012, and he relocated from Texas to Colorado to take advantage of the state\u2019s decriminalization of marijuana.<\/p>\n
Blood also faces trials in April on charges of tampering with a witness and domestic violence. Trial dates in those cases have been set for April.<\/p>\n