August 19, 2009
A man who carried a fake bomb into New York’s LaGuardia Airport this month and disrupted air traffic nationwide is emotionally disturbed and unfit to stand trial, a judge ruled on Tuesday.
Scott McGann, 32, was charged with making a terrorist threat and placing a fake bomb in a mass transit facility after he threatened to detonate what turned out to be a phony bomb on August 1.
Queens Supreme Court Justice James Griffin found McGann incompetent to stand trial after two court-appointed psychologists testified that he lacks the capacity to understand the proceedings against him or assist in his own defence, prosecutors said in a statement.
McGann, who could face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison if convicted, was sent to a psychiatric facility.
His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
McGann was arrested at the airport after police found him with a device that appeared to be a bomb and detonator but was in fact batteries and wires taped together.
The incident forced the airport to close for more than three hours and caused flight delays around the country.
McGann’s family has told local media that he is homeless and suffers from catatonic schizophrenia.
(Reuters)
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Great site…keep up the good work.