CA: Pacoima man accused of threatening to kill President Bus

Pacoima man accused of threatening to kill President Bush
Daily News Wire Services
Article Last Updated: 03/03/2008 09:16:06 AM PST


A 50-year-old Pacoima man who allegedly threatened to kill President Bush is expected to appear today in a federal courtroom, where a judge will determine if he is eligible to be released on bail.

Charles Madrid was arrested last week and is being held in a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Before his arrest Tuesday, authorities, concerned that Madrid's threat may have been prompted by mental illness, took him to Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar for evaluation, The Times reported.

The doctor who examined him concluded that Madrid was not mentally ill "but has a severe anger problem," according to an affidavit by Secret Service Special Agent Kelly O'Hara, The Times reported.

O'Hara wrote in the affidavit cited by The Times that Madrid admitted to threatening to kill the president earlier in the day in front of an LAPD officer.

When O'Hara asked Madrid what he would do if Bush were present right at that moment, he allegedly responded: "I'd deck his ass." The affidavit said that Madrid added that Vice President Dick Cheney also "needs an ass kicking," according to The Times.

Madrid's mother, Rachel Madrid-Hall, told The Times her son was talking to a former girlfriend late last Monday or early Tuesday when he allegedly made the initial threat against Bush. The woman, identified in court papers as Wanda O'Hickey-Way, called 911.

Madrid's attorney, deputy federal
public defender Richard D. Goldman, told The Times the Secret Service was "duty bound" to investigate his client, but that he hopes the U.S. attorney's office will reconsider going forward with the prosecution.
"I don't believe that these were true threats," he said.

At a hearing set for today, a judge is expected to determine whether Madrid is eligible to be released on bail.

For more news and observations about crime in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, check out the Daily News' crime blog.

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