Man in bomb plot may get treatment
A Broward man admitted Wednesday that he planned to bomb an Aventura synagogue during Passover last year.
But James Gonzalo Medina, 41, of Hollywood, has been diagnosed with a “spiderlike” brain cyst that may have affected his conduct, according to the defense.
Under an uncommon agreement between the prosecution and defense, Medina is expected to be locked up for 25 years and will spend at least the first portion of that in a prison medical ward where he can get treatment for the cyst and his mental health. If or when he is deemed fully recovered, he would be transferred to the general population section of a prison.
The final decision lies with U.S. District Judge Robert Scola Jr. when he sentences Medina on Nov. 17. Prosecutor Marc Anton said the government will recommend a 25-year sentence and will not contest the defense’s request that Medina be placed in a prison hospital ward setting, at least initially, for medical and mental health treatment.
Medina was arrested in April 2016 after an undercover sting, which was launched by the FBI after someone reported Medina was threatening an attack.
On Wednesday, Medina pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to damage religious property, which is a hate crime, and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, a fake bomb.
Medina admitted he plotted with an undercover informant to bomb the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center. The complex includes a synagogue, classrooms and meeting halls.
Medina’s defense team said they did not think there was sufficient evidence to persuade a judge and jury that he was entrapped or coerced. If convicted after a trial, he would have faced life in prison.
Medina has been jailed without bond since he was arrested on April 29, 2016 as he walked from a car to the synagogue with a fake bomb that he said he thought was real.
His case was stalled for several months while experts evaluated his mental health. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and the “arachnoid” brain cyst but both sides recently agreed that he is legally competent to proceed with the case.
Assistant Federal Public Defenders Hector Dopico and Eric Cohen told the judge they presented “a lot of mitigating evidence” to prosecutors to help persuade them that this plea agreement was an appropriate outcome.
The FBI began an undercover investigation of Medina in March 2016 after receiving a tip that he was planning to shoot people in the synagogue.
Medina is a U.S. citizen who was raised Pentecostal Christian but converted to Islam after a difficult divorce some years ago. Family members said he has a history of mental health problems.