Southwestern Ill. man accused of strapping fake bomb to himself deemed mentally fit for trial

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-bogus-bomb-standoff,0,298208.story

Southwestern Ill. man accused in standoff involving bogus bomb deemed mentally fit for trial

JIM SUHR

Associated Press

January 14, 2011, 10:36 a.m.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — An explosives-trained Army veteran accused of strapping a fake bomb to his body during a threat-filled day that ended with a seven-hour standoff in suburban St. Louis has been deemed mentally fit for trial, though there may be no need for such proceedings.

Roman Otto Conaway's public defender told U.S. District Judge David Herndon, during a hearing Friday about his client's competency, that in-court discussion moments earlier about how long the trial scheduled to begin Feb. 22 might take could be moot. snip

Federal agents have alleged the standoff at Conaway's home in Fairview Heights, Ill., followed his telephoned threats Sept. 21 to a St. Louis-area mosque in which he pledged to "start an apocalypse" and ignite a war between Christians and Muslims. On his Facebook page, authorities said, Conaway said he would publicly burn a copy of the Quran and invited area television stations to document it.

Prosecutors initially charged Conaway, 50, with threatening President Barack Obama but dropped that count without explanation in an October indictment he now faces. In court papers, federal investigators say Conaway admitted calling the mosque but denied threatening Obama.