ENCINO : Suspected Stalker Held Unfit for Trial
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a New York man charged with stalking pop singer Janet Jackson is mentally unfit to stand trial.
U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hauk determined that Frank Paul Jones, 33, is not competent to stand trial based on a psychological evaluation submitted by his attorneys. Prosecutors also agreed that Jones is mentally unfit to stand trial.
Hauk ordered Jones sent to a federal Bureau of Prisons mental hospital, where another evaluation will be conducted within four months to determine whether he could stand trialthen.
Jones was arrested June 22 as he stood in the driveway of the gated Jackson family compound in Encino, authorities said.
Jones faced a one-count federal indictment charging him with sending 40 threatening letters to the 26-year-old singer that allegedly contained threats against her, her boyfriend, her brother, Michael, movie director John Singleton and President Bush. The federal charges carry a maximum 20-year prison term.
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