Officer Erie’s 1991 killer calls himself “a god.” Psychological examination ordered

Michael M. Bibbs was 17 years old when he fatally shot Erie police officer Richard J. Berchick 33 years ago. Now out of prison, Bibbs now faces charges of threatening to kill Erie police officers and a neighbor.

Michael M. Bibbs, 51, who killed Erie police officer Richard J. Berchick in 1991, pleaded guilty in August to threatening to kill a neighbor and several Erie police officers in April.
Bibbs’ sentencing was delayed because he exhibited unusual behavior, including calling himself “god” and “creator” and claiming he was unaware of his guilty plea.
Bibbs had a history of schizophrenia, and the defense argues that his mental health deteriorated after being incarcerated, prompting the judge to order a mental competency test at the request of the district attorney, the defense.

Erie resident Michael M. Bibbs has served his entire 30-year prison sentence for fatally shooting Erie Police Officer Richard J. Berchick in 1991. He pleaded guilty in August to new charges that he threatened to kill several Erie police officers and a neighbor in April..

Bibbs’ sentencing on the new charges has been delayed.

Sentencing was delayed largely because Bibbs, 51, who suffers from schizophrenia, began calling himself “god” and “creator” and appeared unaware that he had pleaded guilty, according to court records.

At the request of the Erie County District Attorney’s Office and the defense, Erie County Judge David Ridge on Thursday ordered Bibbs to undergo a mental health evaluation to determine whether he is competent to proceed with the case.

Bibbs said “weird”

Ridge issued the order in part in response to what Bibbs said in court Monday when he was scheduled to be sentenced.

When Bibbs appeared on a video monitor from the Erie County Jail during his sentencing, he said he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea. He said police have filed new charges against him and that police know what he did for the last 103 years of his life.

“I spent 30 years in prison. They knew it was coming,” Bibbs said, apparently referring to police.

Bibbs referred to himself as a “god” and a “creator” throughout the new case, and he referred to himself as a “creator” again at Monday’s hearing, where he “spoke in a bizarre manner consistent with schizophrenia,” the chief deputy district attorney said. Jeremy Lightner said he suggested Bibbs take the qualifying exam.

The defense says Bibbs’ mental health has recently deteriorated.

Lightner said in the motion that Bibbs now also appears unaware that he pleaded guilty at a hearing before Judge Daniel Brabender in August. Brabender waived sentencing because he represented Bibbs as counsel in Berczyk’s murder case.

Ridge was scheduled to be sentenced and said Thursday he would delay ruling on Bibbs’ request to withdraw his guilty plea until Bibbs passes a qualifying examination. Bibbs’ attorney, Karen Klapsinos, an assistant public defender who specializes in cases involving mentally ill defendants, also asked for the exam.

Klapsinos agreed with the prosecution that Bibbs became increasingly violent while in jail after his April arrest, another reason both sides agreed to a competency review of Bibbs.

“He has been off his medication since he was in prison and is severely decompensated,” Klapsinos told Ridge.

Bibbs was not in court Thursday. In August, he pleaded guilty to threatening to kill “multiple Erie police officers” after a confrontation with two officers outside his home in the 1200 block of East 20th Street on April 8 — an incident in which he also told police he was a “cop killer.” “, according to the guilty plea documents.

Police also accused Bibbs of threatening to kill a neighbor and other officers while he was in a holding cell at the Erie Police Department. Bibbs pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree terroristic threats and faces a maximum of five years in prison on each count.

Bibbs was not yet 18 when he killed Berczyk.

After killing Berczyk, Bibbs shot and killed a 39-year-old patrol officer following a traffic stop at East 21st Street and East Avenue shortly after 11:00 pm on February 5, 1991, leaving Berczyk last Erie police officer killed in the line of duty. Bibbs was just a week shy of his 18th birthday when the murder occurred and was tried as an adult.

The District Attorney’s Office was seeking a conviction for first-degree murder, premeditated murder. The defense said the shooting happened accidentally as Bibbs and Berczyk struggled with each other. The defense said Bibbs was “borderline mentally retarded.”

Bibbs was convicted in October 1991 of third-degree murder, malice manslaughter.

In November 1991, he was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. At the time, it was the maximum possible sentence for the three charges he was convicted of – third-degree murder and two weapons offenses.

Bibbs was never paroled. He was released from state prison on February 6, 2021.

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