Readers in Alabama may have heard that women should be cautious about using the antidepressant drug Paxil during pregnancy due to a risk of causing birth defects. Now a man accused of robbing a bank in Augusta, Georgia, is saying that using the product caused him to lose his inhibitions, leading to the robbery.

The man's defense attorney introduced the defense at a status conference on Jan. 23. The attorney told the judge that he would be calling expert witnesses who will testify that the defendant was not mentally competent when he robbed a Bank of America branch on July 30, 2010. The man was taking Paxil at the time, which caused him "involuntary intoxication," the defense attorney argued.

Around 5 p.m. the day of the robbery, a man entered the bank wearing a ski mask, batting gloves and a cap. The man threatened tellers with a paintball gun and ordered them to put money into a colorful bag that read "happy birthday." He then escaped, but a GPS device allowed police to find him. A high-speed chase ended when the robber, whom authorities later identified as the defendant, crashed into a fence and a nearby parked car.

It remains to be seen if the defendant's mental incompetence argument will be successful at trial.

GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Paxil, began warning physicians in 2005 that infants born to women who took the drug during the first trimester of pregnancy had an increased risk of major birth defects. The defects include cardiovascular malformations and problems with the ventricles of the heart.

Source: The Augusta Chronicle, "Bank robber suspect blames medication," Kyle Martin, Jan. 23, 2012