Man Accused Of Tossing Fake Bomb Into NYPD Van Arraigned From Bellevue
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A judge ordered a psych exam Wednesday to see if the man accused of tossing a fake bomb into a police van in Times Square last week is fit to stand trial.
Hector Meneses was arraigned by video from Bellevue Hospital where he's been since his arrest last Thursday.
Meneses, 52, hasn't yet entered a plea to the false-bombing and false-reporting charges.
Security video showed a driver flinging an object through the police van's open window.
The foil-wrapped object lit up and made noise as it landed on the police van dashboard, and the officers were afraid it was a homemade bomb.
NYPD Sgt. Hameed Armani and Officer Peter Cybulski said the device flashed and clicked.
Partners for two years, the officers both had the same thought, CBS2's Jessica Layton reported.
"Looked at each other — Cybulski goes, 'Boss this is a bomb,'" Armani said. "The light went off, started clicking. I looked around, saw a lot of kids; a lot of young people — a lot of people out there at Times Square…. I was like, 'We're going to go, but I'm not going to have anybody else go with us.'"
"We both said our prayers. We thought, 'This is it. We're not going to make it,'" said Hameed Armani. "But I'm happy no one else is getting hurt."
"Very crowded area; multiple children around; multiple families around," Cybulski added. "We're not going to let this take out someone else with us, multiple casualties."
Cybulski cradled the device while Armani drove to a quieter spot on 46th Street.
They were lauded for driving away from crowds before getting the object out of the van.
Police later determined the device was actually a battery-powered lantern, a wax candle wrapped in foil and a white cloth, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
At around 2:10 a.m. Thursday, police said officers spotted the suspect's vehicle in Columbus Circle and pulled it over.
Meneses then "rolls up the window, puts his hands towards the glove compartment and says that he wants to die and has a bomb strapped to his vest," Chief of Manhattan Detectives Bill Aubry said.
After putting a red construction helmet on his head, Aubry said the suspect continued to display erratic behavior. The suspect was also wearing sunglasses and had some kind of a remote control in his hand, police said.
"He did make statements that he had a bomb, a vest with a bomb; that he wanted to die," said NYPD Chief Vincent Giordano.
Meneses then engaged officers in an hours-long standoff.
Police said Meneses had no criminal history or documented mental health problems.
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