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 The man who shot Ronald Reagan in a twisted attempt to win the heart of actress Jodie Foster has apparently found a new love. 
 
 John Hinckley Jr. met his current girlfriend at a National Association for the Mentally Ill meeting, his brother testified at a hearing Wednesday that will determine if the would-be assassin can permanently move out of a psychiatric hospital. 
 
 Scott Hinckley described the woman as "somewhat compatible" but said he had never met her. He said their 89-year-old mother, Joann, had met her. Hinckley's sister Diane later described her as more of a platonic friend. 
 
 John Hinckley Jr., 59, has been institutionalized since being found not guilty by reason of insanity for wounding President Reagan, a Secret Service agent, a police officer and press secretary James Brady in 1981. 
 
 Shortly before the shooting, he wrote a love letter to Foster — with whom he became obsessed after seeing the movie "Taxi Driver" — saying he wanted to impress her by "sacrificing my freedom and possibly my life." 
 
 After being granted partial leave from St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington in 2013, Hinckley has spent about half of each month at his mother's home in a gated community near a golf course Williamsburg, Virginia. 
 
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 His lawyers and doctors are asking that he be allowed to live with her full-time — but the government says he is not ready for that step and questions what would happen to him after his mother's death. 
 
 They say that Hinckley has violated the terms of his partial release, citing one incident in which he claimed he was going to a movie but was then spotted by Secret Service agents at a bookstore, looking at books about presidents. 
 
 "Now is not the time to release the reins," prosecutor Colleen Kennedy said. 
 
 To show that his brother does take the restrictions seriously, Scott Hinckley told the court about a time they went to a movie and John made them leave because, he said, "that woman up on the screen is Jodie Foster." 
 
 IN-DEPTH 

 Doctors responsible for treating John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, urged the government at a court hearing Wednesday to grant Hinckley a form of permanent leave from a psychiatric facility. 
 
 Hinckley has been in treatment at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C. for decades, but he's been spending 17 days per month at his mother's home in Williamsburg, Virginia since federal judge Paul Friedman granted him partial leave from the hospital in 2013. 
 
 At the hearing that began Wednesday and is expected to last through Friday, doctors with St. Elizabeth's urged the government to grant Hinckley "convalescent leave," which would allow him to live permanently at his mom's house given his satisfaction of certain conditions. 
 
 Hinckley's lawyer, Barry Levine, told the court that his client has not shown "a hint of dangerous behavior," and he dismissed the governments concerns as a "ritual airing of concerns." 
 
 The government has opposed permanent leave for Hinckley, however, highlighting several recent occasions on which Hinckley violated the terms of his relief. On January 15, for example, he went to a recording studio to inquire about recording his music and did not report the trip to his caregivers. In a previous episode, he told his monitors that he was going to a movie and instead when to a bookstore where he was observed by Secret Service agents looking at books about presidential assassinations. 
 
 Prosecutors have also raised the issue of cost - Hinckley is costing his family $5,000 to $10,000 per month. He's not on Social Security or Medicare, and he currently has two volunteer jobs, but he hopes to secure a paying job if he's granted convalescent leave. 
 
 His brother testified on Wednesday, and his sister was present at the hearing, but Hinckley's mother, who's played a central role in his social rehabilitation to date, was not present. The family is here to testify about what will happen with Hinckley in the event of his mother's passing. His brother said he is open to letting Hinckley living with him in Texas if he gets a job and has a reason to leave the house. 
 
 On March 30, 1981, Hinckley opened fire outside a Washington, D.C. hotel as then-President Reagan was exiting the building after a speech. One of the bullets punctured the president's lung and barely missed his heart. Another left then-White House press secretary James Brady paralyzed from the waist down. 
 
 Hinckley explained his act as an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster, whom he'd been stalking for months. In a bizarre letter he sent to Foster before the shooting, Hinckley wrote, "Jodie, I'm asking you to please look into your heart and at least give the chance, with this historical deed, to gain your love and respect." 
 
 He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the trial that followed. Hinckley's doctors say his mental illness has been in remission for over two decades, and that any relapse would be gradual, allowing his supervisors time to detect early warning signs. 
 
 Despite his notorious history, Hinckley's 17-day stays in Williamsburg have approached something resembling normalcy. He drives a car, and he's been spotted at movie theaters and book stores in the area. He writes his own music, paints, and has recently taken up photography. While Hinckley has had some difficulty forming social relationships, he has recently made friends with a male photographer who is helping him with his hobby. 
 
 It was also revealed at Wednesday's hearing that Hinckley has a girlfriend in Williamsburg. The two met at a meeting of the National Association for the Mentally Ill. She has substance abuse issues and also lived with her parents in the area. Hinckley's brother Scott testified that he has not met the girlfriend, but their mother has met with her and she approves. 
 
 When Hinckley's leave was last expanded in 2013, the judge issued a 29-point order that laid out the terms of his partial release. It specified when he was allowed to leave his mother's home for a drive or a walk, it urged him to take music therapy classes and volunteer at a local hospital, and it required him to check in regularly with his doctors and take his medication. It's likely that any further expansion of his leave would keep him under a similar regime.
– An element of normalcy in John Hinckley's life was revealed at a hearing yesterday, meant to help a judge determine whether the man who shot Ronald Reagan should spend even more time outside of a mental hospital: He has a girlfriend, NBC News reports. Hinckley's brother describes the woman, who Hinckley met at a National Association for the Mentally Ill meeting, as "somewhat compatible" with his brother, though he adds he has never actually met her. But his 89-year-old mother, with whom Hinckley has been staying in Williamsburg, Va., for 17 days a month, approves. CBS News reports the girlfriend has substance abuse issues and lives with her parents in the Williamsburg area. Hinckley's sister dials the story back a bit, saying she's really more of a friend. Hinckley's lawyer says his client, who costs family members up to $10,000 a month, hasn't shown "a hint of dangerous behavior" and hopes he'll be allowed to live with his mother permanently. Hinckley's brother adds he could live with him in Texas after his mother's death, as long as he's employed. Government officials, however, note worrying discrepancies in what Hinckley says he does with his time outside of St. Elizabeth's Hospital and what he actually gets up to. They cite one case in which he said he was going to see a movie but was found in a bookstore in front of volumes about the Reagan shooting. He also visited a recording studio but didn't report the trip. "Now is not the time to release the reins," a prosecutor says. NBC notes President Obama has played golf on a course just steps from Hinckley's mother's home.