Ex-Boyfriend: Edmond Woman Found Wandering Streets Should Be In Mental Facility

The ex-boyfriend of an Edmond woman found wandering the streets on Oct. 4 while holding their naked baby and talking about bombs, said jail was not the answer.

Nick Ruden said Thursday Desiree McCubbin, who goes by the name Nicole, should have been admitted to a mental health facility. Ruden said he feels that his ex-girlfriend's mental health problems were ignored.

"Mostly just horrified, disgusted really," he said about the alleged events described in the police report.

Ruden said McCubbin's mental state the week leading up to her arrest was alarming and he was concerned for their baby daughter, so he called mental health facilities.

"You call every hospital within a 60-mile radius and there's not an open bed," Ruden explained.

He still had trouble believing what happened Oct. 4. According to the Edmond Police report, a homeowner near Mesa Trail and North Kelley Ave. found McCubbin's car in their front yard and McCubbin was walking in and out of traffic, holding a naked baby.

Police said she was trying to flag down drivers and that she told them there were bombs on cars and in the diaper bag. Officers thought she was using bath salts and said that she admitted to using Adderall, so she was taken to OU Medical Center and treated.

10/7/2013 Related Story: Police: Edmond Woman thought Cars Were Bombs, May Have Been On Bath Salts

She was then arrested for public intoxication, obstruction and child endangerment. Ruden felt like the hospital and police did not consider McCubbin's mental health needs.

"Once the cuffs were slapped on, all else was forgotten, like she's already committed a crime that's going to put her behind bars, forget the details," he said.

The baby girl is currently with Ruden. He said he is worried about McCubbin and other people in her same situation.

"Every external factor was identified, but mental health was never really focused on," Ruden said.

OU Medical Center spokesperson Scott Coppenbarger released this statement:

"OU Medical Center takes patient concerns seriously, but due to federal privacy laws, we are unable to comment on specific patient matters."

Edmond Police said their officers have crisis intervention training for responding to people experiencing mental health crises and that they followed protocol in McCubbin's case. News 9 called McCubbin for comment, but she did not answer.