KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man can be forcibly medicated so he can stand trial on charges he tried to take a fake bomb through Kansas City airport security on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, a judge has ruled.
Anthony Falco Jr., 48, whose last known address was East Petersburg, Pa., has been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial, but is not eligible for involuntary commitment to a mental institution because he is not considered a danger to himself or others. Falco's mother told investigators he had quit taking medications for schizophrenia at the time of the Sept. 11, 2011, incident at Kansas City International Airport, and he has continued to refuse to take them as he awaits trial.
Federal prosecutors had said charges might have to be dropped if a judge didn't rule Falco could be forcibly medicated for trial.
On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Hays ruled Falco should be returned to the Federal Medical Center in Butner, N.C., and be medicated. Falco's public defender declined to comment Wednesday because the order was sealed.
Falco was taken into custody after an X-ray machine detected suspicious items in his bag and security officers asked if they could examine it. Falco refused, made threatening statements and tried to leave before he was detained, prosecutors said.
The bomb squad later determined there were no explosives.