Washington ( CNN ) -- Former presidential assailant John Hinckley Jr. should not be allowed to spend any unsupervised time during visits to his mother 's home in Virginia , according to a psychiatrist who first met Hinckley in the 1980s and interviewed him several times in recent months . Dr. Raymond Patterson testified in a federal court hearing on Wednesday he was concerned to learn that Hinckley sometimes did not follow the hospital-approved itinerary for how he would spend his few hours of unattended time while in Williamsburg , Virginia . In several instances , Hinckley was supposed to go to movies , skipped them and then later told doctors back at his mental hospital in Washington that he had attended the movies . `` He has gone out of his way to lie about it and then embellished the lie , '' said Patterson . The psychiatrist said he questioned Hinckley in November about being dishonest about his activities , and that Hinckley minimized it and called it `` nitpicking . '' Hinckley , now 56 , was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the March 1981 shooting of President Ronald Reagan , his press secretary James Brady , Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police Officer Thomas Delahanty . All four men survived , though Brady was permanently disabled and Delahanty 's wounds forced him to retire shortly afterward . Patterson said he had asked Hinckley about Secret Service reports Hinckley had gone into book stores and looked at shelves of history books which included volumes about presidential assassination . He said Hinckley maintained he never looked at those books . Patterson said he did n't know whether to believe him . Hinckley currently spends 10 days a month at his elderly mother 's home at a gated community . During those visits , he is allowed three hours of unsupervised time twice during his stay , although sometimes Secret Service agents are watching Hinckley without his knowledge . A federal judge is hearing testimony on St. Elizabeths ' plan to increase his time in Virginia to two visits of 17 days followed by six stays of 24 days . The hospital is seeking authority to decide after that whether Hinckley should then be released as a permanent outpatient . Dr. Patterson , the former director of forensic psychiatry at St. Elizabeths , told the court he opposes allowing any expansion of Hinckley 's trip beyond 17 days and said the unaccompanied time should end . Patterson said Hinckley engages in deception and has what he termed `` distorted relationships '' with women . He said those are risk factors in analyzing whether he could become a danger to himself or others . Patterson said Hinckley lied to his parents and psychiatrists prior to the 1981 Reagan shooting . The doctor made a rare reference to actress Jodie Foster during these proceedings . It was Hinckley 's fixation on the actress that led him to shoot Reagan in an attempt to impress her . Patterson said that relationship was a delusion and noted that years after the assassination attempt -- in 1995 -- Hinckley said he was over his feelings for Foster . However , pictures of her were found in his room at St. Elizabeths at that time . Barry Levine , a lawyer for Hinckley , has said the main issue is whether Hinckley is dangerous and that no evidence has been presented to show that he is . Whenever the subject has come up about Hinckley looking at books on assassination , Levine has said there were many books in the history section and agents do n't know if Hinckley was looking at any books in particular . The hearing on whether Hinckley should get increased freedoms will resume on Monday .
Dr. Raymond Patterson testifies in federal court about John Hinckley Jr. 's behavior . The defense team argues that the psychiatrist was not competent to testify and should be barred from testifying at trial. Hinckley engages in deception and has `` distorted relationships '' with women . He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the attempt on President Reagan 's life . He currently spends 10 days a month at his elderly mother 's home at a gated community .