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Man In Detroit Explosive Case Still Not Competent

MARQUETTE (WWJ/AP) - A judge has ruled that an Upper Peninsula man who authorities say placed an explosive outside a Detroit federal building last year still is not mentally competent to face the charges.

The Mining Journal of Marquette reports U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Greeley made the determination Tuesday in the case of 44-year-old Gary Mikulich. Greeley made a similar determination in August. Mikulich is in custody for treatment to try to improve his mental health.

An email seeking comment was sent Thursday to a lawyer for Mikulich.

The Kingsford man is charged with leaving a metal box containing explosive components outside the McNamara Federal Building on Feb. 26, 2011. No one was hurt, and a bomb squad detonated the explosives on Belle Isle.

After Mikulich's arrest, his family said he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia 18 years ago and often refuses to take medication.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in court, Mikulich has complained to the police about the FBI and a "card system" more than a dozen times since January. The complaints claim the "card system" has "led to the murder of thousands of people and has attacked him."

A Feb. 11 fax read: "This card system is going berserk for some reason. They are making threats of hitting the local police, sheriff's office, and state police. They are threatening to murder me too."

The FBI doesn't "have any idea" what is meant by a "card system," agency spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said.

Mikulich referred to himself as "President Mikulich" and the "nominated president of the United States of America," the FBI said.

The exploded materials included pieces of PVC pipe, a timer and black electrical tape, along with a handwritten note that read, "1. Turn Switch 2. Plug, in," agent Mark Davidson wrote in an affidavit filed in court.

TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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