Judge Orders Medication For Man In Bixby Pipe Bomb Case

<p>A judge in Oklahoma has ruled that a former senior airman suspected of setting off a pipe bomb outside an Air Force recruiting office will be forced to take medication to restore his competency.</p>

Tuesday, February 13th 2018, 3:02 pm

By: News On 6

Judge Orders Medication For Man In Bixby Pipe Bomb Case

A judge in Oklahoma has ruled that a former senior airman suspected of setting off a pipe bomb outside an Air Force recruiting office will be forced to take medication to restore his competency to stand trial on explosives charges.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank McCarthy on Tuesday ordered that anti-psychotic drugs be given to 29-year-old Benjamin Roden.

McCarthy determined last year that Roden wasn't competent to stand trial for the July 10 explosion in the Tulsa suburb of Bixby. No one was hurt.

Federal prosecutor Allen Litchfield says Roden refused to leave his cell to appear at Tuesday's video conference hearing from the North Carolina federal medical facility where he's being treated.

Prosecutors claim Roden "turned to hate" after he couldn't complete training required to become an Air Force electrician.