LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge ruled Monday that a former security screener at Los Angeles International Airport will be sent to a mental institution rather than stand trial on charges he made threats on the eve of last year’s 9/11 anniversary.
U.S. District Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell found that Nna Alpha Onuoha isn’t competent to stand trial after reviewing a doctor’s evaluation and hearing a rambling, incoherent statement from the 30-year-old defendant, according to City News Service.
Onuoha, a former Transportation Security Administration officer, was arrested around midnight Sept. 13. The FBI said he had resigned earlier that day after a recent suspension for allegedly criticizing a 15-year-old girl’s wardrobe as too skimpy. The incident was publicized after the girl’s father blogged about it.
Onuoha is accused of making threatening calls to airport officials demanding that terminals be evacuated, according to the indictment. Prosecutors charged him with false information and hoaxes, and making telephonic threats.
If convicted, he faced up to 45 years in prison.
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