Alleged Bomber May Be Forcibly Medicated for Trial

A June hearing before a federal judge will determine whether Ron Hirsch, the man charged with detonating a pipe bomb last spring at a Chabad House in Santa Monica, should be forced to take medication to stand trial.

The so-called Sell hearing was ordered by District Judge Manuel L. Real on April 26 at the request of prosecutors. The federal Bureau of Prisons has issued two reports that led Real, the U.S. attorney’s office and Hirsch’s attorney to conclude that Hirsch is incompetent for trial, according to court documents.

If convicted on all charges—which include flight to avoid prosecution—Hirsch would face a maximum sentence of 70 years behind bars.

It was not clear from the court documents why the prison eximaners found Hirsch, 61, unfit for trial. Medical records are not typically public record.

The trial was scheduled to begin next month but was put postponed until July.

Robert D. Little, the attorney representing Hirsch, will retain a psychiatrist for a separate evaluation before the June 29 hearing.

In the 2003 court case Sell vs. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that a criminal defendant may be forcefully medicated for the sole purposes of rendering him competent to stand trial. Before a defendant can be medicated, however, the courts have to find that there won’t be any serious side effects, among other criteria.

An earlier evaluation in October found Hirsch incompetent to stand trial, and he was ordered hospitalized for four months. At that time, the Bureau of Prisons was asked to prepare a report addressing whether Hirsch’s competency had been restored, allowing him to stand trial.

Hirsch was evaluated again sometime after January by the Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butener, NC. He has since been ordered back to California. Jail records show that he’s currently housed at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City.

Shortly after 6 a.m. on April 7, a large steel pipe partially encased in concrete exploded from inside a plastic trash can on a small walkway just outside the Chabad House Lubavitch of Santa Monica at 1428 17th St. The explosion launched the steel pipe into the side of the Chabad House before it landed on the roof of a nearby home.

A receipt with Hirsch’s name for three 11-pound bags of a demolition agent from a store in Clovis, CA was found at the scene, authorities say. Hirsch was later arrested at at a synagogue in Cleveland Heights, OH.

Investigators will use 1,163 photos, 1,526 pages of documents, and nine computer disks of video and audio files to try to link Hirsch to the explosion, which forced evacuations near the Chabad House.

No one was injured when the pipe bomb exploded.

In May 2011, Hirsch pleaded not guilty to four charges, which include attempting to damage and destroy a religious center with a fire and/or explosive device.