KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) A Jamaican man accused of trying to hijack a Canadian jetliner will remain in jail pending a defense attorney's request for a psychiatric evaluation, a court ruled Tuesday.
Stephen Fray, 21, faces six charges, including robbery and assault, in the April 19 hostage standoff aboard a CanJet Airlines plane at Montego Bay's airport. He allegedly fired a handgun into the air, demanded to be flown off the island and took cash from passengers before military commandos burst in and captured him.
Government officials have described Fray as "mentally challenged," but authorities declined to provide details of his mental health.
The suspect's father, Earl Fray, said Tuesday that his son had grown withdrawn during a jobless stretch after dropping his studies at a community college, but he never seemed likely to cause trouble.
"He was unemployed and that's one of the things that led him to this state," Fray said. "Stephen has always been a quiet person, always on the computer. Anytime I ask him if he's OK, he'd just say, 'Everything is all right, Daddy.' Nothing more."
Fray, a 51-year-old businessman, said that he and police had not determined what his son's motivation might have been.
"He's still not talking," Fray said.
Do you think if is he was manlaly chalenged he should be able to get away with it?
