Pat Reavy Deseret News
WEST VALLEY CITY — It was a job that could make even the strongest men break down.
For a year, Codie Carver served in Iraq for the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a heavy equipment operator, according to his mother, Velenie Stens. Part of his duties included going to the aftermath of a bombing or battle, gathering up the body bags of his military comrades and sometimes his own friends.By the time he was being prepared to be sent home, he was already on disability leave for post traumatic stress disorder, his mother said.
When he returned home, Stens said her son seemed OK for the first two months. Then things went very wrong.Carver, 24, became depressed and suicidal, she said. He would have fits where he would continuously punch himself."He didn’t talk about (his time in Iraq)," she said. "It was hard for him to talk to anybody about what he did see."The depression went in spurts. Now, Carver is wanted by Sandy police for questioning in connection with a bank robbery.
About three months ago, Stens said her son’s condition had gotten so bad that she wanted — but was unable — to get him committed to the VA hospital.
A man walked into Washington Mutual, 7910 S. 1300 East, about 3:30 p.m. Monday. The man wore dark clothes, gloves and a ski mask. He told the clerk he had a gun and would harm her if she did not give him money, according to Sandy Police Sgt. Justin Chapman. After receiving an undetermined amount of cash, the man left.
Witnesses saw him drive off in a white Dodge Durango with Utah license plate A408B. The registration matched the vehicle and came back to Carver, Chapman said.
His mother said Tuesday she wasn’t 100 percent sure if her son was responsible. But she said her son did own a white Durango and she had not seen him since about 11:45 a.m. Monday. Stens was unable to tell from the surveillance video of the bank robbery whether the man was her son.
However, she is trying to reach him through the media, pleading with him to turn himself in and work it out with police. Her biggest fear now is her son will be pulled over in a small town where police will draw their weapons on him. Stens did not believe her son was armed.
Chapman, however, said law enforcement officers have no choice but to consider him armed and dangerous because of what he allegedly said inside the bank.
"I’m just devastated," Stens said. "I’m shocked. This is not my son. He wouldn’t hurt anybody."
Carver joined the Marines just a couple of months after graduating from West Jordan High School.
"He was a really good kid. He had a good head on his shoulders," Stens said. "He wanted to succeed."
After joining the Marines, Carver went away on active duty for four years, going to Japan, Thailand and finally Iraq, his mother said.
About two months after returning to Utah, Carver started having trouble sleeping at night and talked about suicide, his mother said. She tried to get him into the Veterans Affairs Medical Center immediately but says she was put on a monthlong waiting list. After seeing a doctor at the hospital, Carver was given an antidepressant medication.
"One day he’d be OK and start to snap out of it, and then he stopped taking the medicine," Stens said.
About three months ago, Stens said her son’s condition had gotten so bad that she wanted — but was unable — to get him committed to the VA hospital.
"It got really bad to where I could not leave him alone," she said. "He’d say, like, ‘Mom, I think I’m going to kill myself today.’ I had to be with him at all times."
But once again, Carver seemed to get over his downswing. He got a job helping promote a local rock band. He was saving up his money so he could get his business going and eventually leave Utah, his mother said. But about two weeks ago, Stens said some of the band members took about $3,000 that Carver was going to use for promotion and left, leaving him with nothing.
"The police said maybe that pushed him over the edge," Stens said.
Sunday night, Stens said her son seemed to be doing fine. Monday afternoon, however, after Stens returned home from running errands, she found a note. Carver told his mother in the note that he loved her and that she did a good job raising him.
"But I have to leave Salt Lake. I don’t want to stay here anymore. Sometimes you have to risk things in life to gain anything," Stens read from the note.
Carver also asked his mom to take care of his dog, who is believed to be with him, should anything happen to him.
"I just wish I knew where he was. I’m just scared for his safety at this time. I wish he’d turn himself in," she said.
Carver is about 5-foot-11 and weighs 180 pounds. He has "USMC" tattooed on one arm, his mother said. His white Durango, with oversized tires and a lift, also has a Marine sticker on the back.
E-MAIL: preavy@desnews.com
UPDATE:
SALT LAKE CITY — An Iraq war veteran and former U.S. Marine has entered a not guilty plea to federal bank robbery charges.
Codie Carver, 24, appeared in U.S. District Court Friday. He is accused of robbing a Washington Mutual bank branch in Sandy on March 9.
A three-day trial is scheduled to begin May 26.
See also: Ex-Marine charged in Utah bank robbery
Carver has said he hired someone to hold up the bank and then gave his share to the homeless in Las Vegas.
Carver’s family says he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after spending a year in Iraq.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba initially ordered Carver to a halfway house so the former Marine could work pending trial.
Federal prosecutors immediately filed an emergency appeal and a second judge ordered Carver to stay in custody.
ATTENTION READERS
We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully InformedIn fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion.
About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy
