UPDATE: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 --- 4:15 p.m.

A deal has been made in the case of the man charged with causing a bomb scare downtown last summer.

David Floyd pleaded no contest today to making a bomb threat and disorderly conduct last July.

A Dane County Judge then found Floyd not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Floyd had previously been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and psychosis at the time of his crimes.

Next, a recommendation will be made and a hearing held to decide how long Floyd will be treated and where his treatment will take place.

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UPDATE Posted Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 -- 4:30 pm
By Zac Schultz

Madison: Charges against the man accused of planting a fake bomb near the capitol are on hold because he's not mentally competent to stand trial.

A judge committed the 67 year old David Floyd to the Mendota Mental Health Institute Wednesday for treatment.

Charges of felony bomb scare and disorderly conduct are on hold until Floyd can assist in his own defense.

Floyd allegedly planted a burning backpack on the Capitol square last January. The Dane County Bomb Squad was called in to dispose of the device and officers said it contained all the elements of a bomb except the explosives.

Earlier in July, Floyd had different disorderly conduct charges dismissed after he was declared not mentally competent.

Floyd sat calmly through Wednesday's hearing, but his lawyer says he doesn't know if Floyd even knew what was going on. "I don't know what he thinks just happened," says Mark Frank, "because he can't always put together the reality of his situation with the thoughts in his own head."

The state has a year to treat Floyd back to competency. Frank isn't sure that can happen. "Now that he's getting older he's starting to exhibit symptoms of mental illness and that might lead one to conclude that maybe those symptoms won't get better in the future. He'll obviously continue to get older. Mental illness may continue to progress."

The judge ruled doctors can force Floyd to take medication if needed, but Frank says Floyd has been cooperating so far. "It's really a disorganization of thought. He does exhibit delusions and hallucinations and paranoid thinking."

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UPDATE Posted Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 -- 4:30 pm
By Zac Schultz

Madison: It's back to Mendota for the man accused of planting a fake bomb on the Capitol Square.

David Floyd faces charges of felony bomb scare and disorderly conduct, but the case is on hold while he undergoes a mental competency evaluation at the Mendota Mental Health Institute.

Floyd's lawyer requested the exam after meeting with him. "He's very courteous, polite fellow," says Mark Frank. "Obviously he has some degree of impairment in his thought process. That probably results from some sort of mental illness."

Floyd is accused of hanging a burning backpack in a tree on the Capitol Square on July 29th. The Dane County Bomb Squad was called in to dispose of the device. Officers say it contained all the makings of a bomb except the explosives.

After being arrested he made nonsensical statements, like he was represented by the King of Saudi Arabia who was married to Cher.

Floyd made similar statements when he was arrested for Disorderly Conduct June 26. A judge ordered a competency evaluation, and Floyd was confined for 22 days, until a doctor ruled he was not mentally fit enough to assist in his own defense.

The District Attorney dismissed the charges on July 17th, in part because Floyd had already spent more time in jail then he was likely to get if convicted.

Tim Verhoff is the Deputy District Attorney. He says there are limits to how long they can hold someone. "The length of time someone can be held is determined by the overall length of potential sentence."

Floyd only faced 90 days in jail for disorderly conduct. "So if you can't return someone to competency in that short period of time, they're going to be let out."

But Verhoff says just because Floyd timed out on the disorderly conduct charge doesn't mean the charges will be dismissed this time. "If you have a longer case, you're going to have the entire penalty section. So if you have a felony you might have a year or years to treat someone back to competency and get the case going."

"Maybe he will become competent, maybe not," says Frank. "It's too early to speculate on that."

Felony bomb threat is a Class I felony, carrying a 3 and a half year sentence, 18 months of which can be prison time. So the state has 18 months to make Floyd competent.

If a doctor rules Floyd can never be treated back to competency, the judge can convert the charges to a civil case, and have him commited to a mental facility.

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UPDATED Thursday, August 14, 2008 --- 3:30 p.m

The man Madison Police say caused two bomb scares in downtown Madison last month was in court today.

67-year-old David Floyd faces one count of felony bomb scare and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct while armed.

Police say that on July 29th Floyd placed a backpack that contained a look-alike bomb on a tree in front of Walgreens on the Capitol Square. According to the criminal complaint, Floyd lit the backpack on fire and walked away. A bystander saw the burning bag and tried to blow it out, but the fire was too large, with flames up to six inches. Shortly after a letter carrier happened by and doused the small fire with water.

In the hours that followed, both Madison Police and Dane County Sheriff Department responded, closing off much of the Capitol Square and evacuating nearby buildings. Eventually, the Dane County Bomb Squad safely detonated the device.

The next day, a construction worker who had witnessed Floyd's behavior, saw him again on the Capitol Square, and pointed him out to police. According to the criminal complaint, a Madison Police Officer approached Floyd as he was walking his bicycle, and identified himself and displayed his badge. Floyd, held up a box cutter, it's blade extended, and told the police officer, "I'm going to kill you." The officer then drew his weapon and ordered Floyd to "drop the knife!" Floyd hesitated for a moment, then obeyed, and put the box cutter in a bag on his bicycle.

During the course of Floyd's subsequent arrest, he made several strange comments, and some threats. He told one officer, "Cops are going to die tonight." And later told detectives he would be represented by the King of Saudi Arabia who is married to Cher, and that he was born in Illinois but reborn in NATO.

Floyd also told police the item he left was not a bomb but a work of art. He also said that an "insane psychiatrist" had labeled him as having mental health problems.

The complaint says Floyd purposely built a look-alike bomb, and Dane County Deputies say the device was deliberately assembled to resemble a bomb, and Floyd clearly spent a significant amount of time and effort "to construct a genuine looking hoax device."

Floyd is now being held on a $2000 bond.

He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 20th.

He had been arrested earlier in July for disorderly conduct, but was released because he was deemed mentally incapable of standing trial, and had already spent enough time in jail that the remaining penalty for the charge was not worth pursuing.

PREVIOUS STORIES:

Friday, August 1, 2008 --- 3:20 p.m.

Madison.com update:

A 67-year-old man is in custody in Madison in connection with two bomb scares near the Capitol building.

Madison police found a strange variety of electronic parts and pieces in the backpack of a man arrested for bomb scares earlier this week, but don't believe it would have blown up.

"At this point, investigators don't believe there was ever any chance for an explosion," police spokesman Joel Despain said Friday. Still, he said, "they can't completely rule that out."

On Wednesday, police arrested David R. Floyd, a 67-year-old homeless man on tentative charges of causing a bomb scare and disorderly conduct while armed. He was taken into custody after two construction workers recognized him Wednesday as the man who had left a smoking backpack hanging in a tree in front of the Walgreens drug store on Tuesday, which prompted police to close part of the Capitol Square and blow up the backpack.

Police said Floyd, who has a history of mental problems, was taken for a psychiatric evaluation.

Despain said that inside Floyd's backpack police found "a lot of electronic-looking devices, a lot of small piece of metal — in general, a lot of junk."

"He wrapped it up and made it look like something," Despain said. Investigators are still examining the material, he said.

Police are not certain what was smoking in the backpack on Tuesday, Despain said, but said a candle was found among the items in the backpack. As of Friday, he had not been charged with any crime.

Prior to Wednesday, Floyd most recently had contact with police in late June, according to court records. Police were called to 115 W. Washington Ave., across the street from the homeless men's shelter at Grace Episcopal Church, where an older, bearded man was harassing people.

An employee of Union Federal Savings & Loan told police that for about two weeks, a man later identified as Floyd, had been screaming, yelling and throwing things at passers-by for no apparent reason, according to a police report.

She said Floyd apparently lived in his vehicle and had become possessive of one particular parking spot near Union Federal. He was angry because his vehicle had been towed, according to the report.

When police found Floyd he spoke "gibberish," but denied harassing people. He was charged with disorderly conduct, but the case was ultimately dismissed after Floyd underwent a competency evaluation.

Floyd was apparently somewhat more lucid in July 2000 when he was arrested by State Capitol police after he grabbed a woman on the Capitol grounds, kissed her and told her, "I'm not going to let you go," according to court records.

Floyd was charged with false imprisonment.
In a letter from jail to Circuit Judge William Foust, Floyd wrote that he mistook the woman for someone else that he knew from Rockford, Ill., and that he learned an important lesson.

"Always stop one minute to look and see how we can take best care of ourselves and as well as we take care of others," he wrote. He asked that he be released, that the time he served in jail was enough "to prevent me from ever behaving that way again."

About a week later, he pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to time served.

In April, Floyd was charged with disorderly conduct in Winnebago County, Ill., for an incident in Rockford, according to online court records. Details about the case were not available Friday. But the online records indicate that a judge gave Floyd permission on April 16 to live in Madison while that case was pending.

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UPDATED Wednesday, July 30 --- 8:50pm
Reporter: Chris Woodard

These bomb scares are not the first time David Floyd has been in trouble with the law. It was only 13 days ago that he was in jail.

While David Floyd doesn't have a long rap sheet, he has a recent one and if the past is any indication this case is once again likely to center on mental health.

Construction worker Timothy Minter says, " The guy comes around the corner with a bicycle, the police basically on his tail."

It was a swift end to a two-day ordeal, one man believed responsible for shutting down the Capitol Square two days in a row.

Minter says, "A couple officers stepped out of the car and asked him to step off his bicycle."

Police claim 67 year old David Floyd threatened officers with a weapon before being taken into custody. They believe he is responsible for Tuesday's bomb scare.

Police believe Floyd left a flaming backpack hanging on a tree just 12 days after being released from jail.

He was locked up after a June 26th arrest for disorderly conduct in front of Union Federal Savings and Loan.

A bank employee told police Floyd had been yelling and throwing things at passers by, apparently becoming possessive over a parking spot in front of the bank.

According to the police report while answering questions Floyd would go into tangents about topics completely unrelated to the subject, a responding officer calling much of what he said gibberish.

After 22 days in jail the case was dismissed and Floyd was released, District Attorney Brian Blanchard saying Floyd wasn't competent enough to defend himself.

Less than two weeks later witnesses say it is Floyd who is responsible for the bomb scares.

Another construction worker near the scene says, "He was circling his bicycle around the sidewalk doing big 20 foot circles around me looking back toward the square. Hopefully no it's all done."

So why was Floyd out of jail? He had spent 22 days there. That's longer than the sentence he would have received, even if found guilty.

The District Attorney's Office says there wasn't enough time for Floyd to receive the mental treatment he needed before standing trial so his case was dismissed.

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UPDATED Wednesday, July 30 --- 5:55pm

NBC 15 News has learned the suspect in this case, David Floyd, was arrested June 26th for disorderly conduct.

A bank employee had called police, claiming Floyd was harassing and throwing objects at people.

He was released from the Dane County Jail a week and a half ago. That's because a doctor determined he was not mentally competent to stand trial.

The DA decided not to hold him in jail any longer because he had already served more time than his potential sentence.

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UPDATED July 30 --- 5:45pm

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A 67-year-old man is in custody in Madison in connection with two bomb scares near the Capitol building.

A police spokesman says David R. Floyd was arrested in front of the office building housing the Department of Justice across the street from the Capitol.

Spokesman Joel DeSpain says police will ask prosecutors to charge Floyd with felony bomb scare and disorderly conduct while armed.

He says Floyd threatened a detective arresting him with an unidentified sharp weapon.

Construction workers saw Floyd hang a backpack in a tree just across the street from the Capitol on Tuesday and spotted him near that spot again Wednesday.

The backpack left Tuesday had to be destroyed by a bomb squad and experts believe it may have contained a home-made explosive device.

A bomb squad is back on the scene today examining Floyd's bike and some unidentified items. DeSpain says they may have to be destroyed, too.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Wednesday, July 30, 2008 --- 3:10 p.m.

The suspect has been identified as David R. Floyd, age 67, no permanent address.

He also threatened a detective with a straight edge weapon the charge is disorderly conduct while armed.

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UPDATED Wednesday, July 30 --- 3:00pm

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Madison police have arrested a man suspected of leaving a suspected explosive device near the state Capitol.

The man was arrested outside the building that houses the Department of Justice. Two construction workers who saw the man leaving the backpack on Tuesday called police after seeing him again about noon Wednesday.

The backpack left Tuesday was hanging in a tree about a block from where the man was apprehended. It was on fire and had to be detonated by the bomb squad.

Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain says bomb experts believe a homemade bomb was in the backpack.

DeSpain says the suspect is in his 60s or 70s and had items of concern in his possession and on his bike. DeSpain did not have details on what those were.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Wednesday, July 30, 2008 --- 1:50 p.m.

A witness tells NBC 15 that a suspicious package was found on a bike outside of Brocach Irish Pub on W. Main St. This is an unconfirmed report.

A male in his 60s or 70s is in custody. There was an altercation between this man, who was also spotted by construction workers yesterday putting the package outside Walgreens, and police. Today they saw him again and called police, who were already on their way to speak with the workers. Items of concern were found on his person and his bike.

According to NBC 15's Brock Bergey, the entire length of Main St. around the Capitol has been roped off.

According to Public Information Office Joel DeSpain, yesterday's suspicious package appears to be some sort of explosive device but forensic testing is ongoing.

The bomb squads have been called in today for the bike. Currently there are no evacuations, but people have been asked to stay inside. Police have been checking area ramps and parking lots for suspicious items but have found nothing.

Anchor Bank employees have been told to stay 30 feet away from all windows because at some point this afternoon authorities will be detonating the suspicious item.

As of right now, Concerts on the Square WILL go on.

Stay with NBC 15 and nbc15.com for the latest updates.

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UPDATED Wednesday, July 30, 2008 --- 12:55 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- For the second day in a row, authorities are cordoning off an area near the Wisconsin Capitol as they investigate a suspicious item.

Dane County Sheriff's spokeswoman Elise Schaffer says the agency's bomb squad is on its way to investigate a suspicious backpack. She says she has no other details at this point.

Police have closed a block on the Capitol square to traffic and pedestrians, and several officers are on the scene near a bank.

It's one block from a Walgreen store where a suspicious backpack on fire in a tree was discovered Tuesday.

The bomb squad ultimately destroyed that backpack after investigators said the items inside looked like an improvised explosive device.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Wednesday, July 30, 2008 --- 12:45 p.m.

Portions of Capitol Square have been blocked off for the second time in two days.

A witness tells NBC 15 that there is tape everywhere, and that the streets are blocked off due to suspicious activity.

NBC 15 has crews on the scene.

Stay tuned to NBC 15 and nbc15.com for the latest updates.

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UPDATED Tuesday, July 29 --- 9:20pm
Reporter: Chris Woodard

A scare on the Capitol Square causes evacuations and an afternoon full of tense moments.

It's a situation police worry could have been much worse.

At this point the Dane County Bomb Squad is saying the area around a suspicious backpack is safe but police are still trying to figure out who left a flaming backpack right across the street from the Capitol and why.

It's a rush to the Capitol that in a matter of minutes turned Main Street into the center of an explosive situation.

Kendall Kelly says, "All of a sudden our car was blocked off."

The crime scene continued to get larger as concerns grew, all centering around a backpack hanging from a tree in front of Walgreens and just yards from the Capitol.

Joel DeSpain with the Madison Police Department says, "The backpack, in fact, was on fire at the time a U.S. Postal Carrier saw it and poured his Gatorade on it to put it out."

First responders were called and quickly brought in bomb squad members who were suspicious, taping off the area, evacuating neighboring buildings and urging Capitol employees to stay away from windows.

Kelly says, "We're just kind of curious about what is going on."

With the area cleared the bomb squad moved in, detonating the backpack they feared contained an explosive.

But one blast didn't do the job. After a second bang, a thumb's up, a tense afternoon coming to safe end.

DeSpain says, "That item has been rendered safe. It will now be examined to see if it was an actual threat to the community or hoax or nothing"

With the threat over stranded visitors get back to their vehicles, a simple trip to the capitol leaving them with quite a scare

After noticing her vehicle is stuck inside the taped off area visitor Janis Lant says, "We went the other way. We didn't want nothing to do with it, plain English

As once stranded visitors leave the scene, the investigation is just beginning. There are many pieces that must be put back together before police figure out what and who are responsible for turning an average afternoon into a frightening day for many in the area.

Police still aren't saying exactly what they believe was in the backpack but we did hear from employees in the area who say they were told police believed it could have been a pipe bomb.

You may recall there have been similar scares downtown over the past few years but police say right now they have no reason to believe the events are connected.

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UPDATED Tuesday, July 29 --- 6:30pm

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Two loud booms were heard in downtown Madison late today as a bomb squad worked to detonate a backpack authorities feared might contain an explosive device.

Madison Police spokesman Joel DeSpain says the booms were part of a process the bomb squad used to render the backpack safe. Authorities are still investigating what was in the backpack and searching area buildings and parking ramps for any additional items that might be of concern.

Pedestrians discovered the backpack hanging from a tree in flames in front of a Walgreens store across the street from the Capitol shortly before 2 p.m.

DeSpain says a postal carrier put out the fire using liquid from a Gatorade bottle but investigators who arrived on the scene saw items in the backpack they thought were suspicious. He declined to elaborate.

As a precaution, authorities blocked traffic on the Capitol square, closed part of the area to pedestrian traffic and warned citizens to stay away.

Capitol police also warned employees in the east wing of the Capitol, which houses Governor Jim Doyle's staff, to stay away from windows.

Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner said the roughly 40 employees who work for the governor were not asked to evacuate and continued working.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, July 29 --- 5:30pm

NBC15's Chris Woodard reports that the suspicious item was detonated around 5:15 p.m. and that another explosion happened around 5:45.

He says the bomb squad diffused the situation, but they're not saying if there were explosives inside the bag because police purposely exploded the bag. They are still determining what was inside and are not sure if there was ever a threat.

No witnesses have come forward saying they saw anyone leaving the backpack in the area.

There were some evacuations and workers in the Capitol were moved to the back side of building away from windows.

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UPDATED Tuesday, July 29 --- 5:00pm

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Authorities closed off an area near the Wisconsin Capitol on this afternoon as they investigated whether a backpack contained an explosive device.

Police say pedestrians discovered a backpack hanging from a tree in flames in front of a Walgreens store across the street from the Capitol shortly before 2 p.m.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain says a postal carrier put out the fire using liquid from a Gatorade bottle but investigators who arrived on the scene saw items in the backpack they thought were suspicious. He declined to elaborate.

The Dane County Sheriff's Department bomb squad, agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Madison police and firefighters went to the scene.

As a precaution, authorities blocked traffic on the Capitol square, closed part of the area to pedestrian traffic and warned citizens to stay away.

Capitol police also warned employees in the east wing of the Capitol, which houses the governor's administrative staff, to stay away from windows.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, July 29, 2008 --- 4:45 p.m.

One person who works downtown tells NBC 15 that police have sent workers away from the area... early reports indicate the suspicious item is a possible pipe bomb.

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UPDATED Tuesday, July 29, 2008 --- 4:30 p.m.

According to a news release from the Madison Police Department:

At 1:53 p.m. Madison Police were called to the 10 block of East Main Street for a report of a suspicious package. A backpack was discovered hanging from a tree in front of the Walgreen Drug Store on the Capitol Square. This backpack had been on fire, and a U.S. Postal Carrier was able to put flames out utilizing a bottle of Gatorade.

Madison Firefighters were called to the scene initially, and since that time more agencies have become involved in the investigation. Joining Madison Police and Fire are agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and members of the Dane County Sheriff's Department Bomb Squad. Bomb Squad leaders determined there is reason to be suspicious of items inside the backpack, because of that - as a precaution - an area of the Capitol Square has been cordoned off.

Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. borders this area blocked to traffic on one side, while Main and King Streets mark the boundary on the other. Citizens are asked to stay away while the Bomb Squad can determine whether there is a real safety risk.

Anyone who observed someone acting suspiciously in the area of the Capitol Square early this afternoon is urged to call Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.

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POSTED: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 -- 4:05 p.m.

The bomb squad is investigating a suspicious item outside of Walgreens on the Capitol Square.

Police tell NBC 15 some sort of backpack was set on fire. The flames have been put out.

Officers are advising people to stay away from this area, while they investigate the situation.

We have a crew on scene. Stay with NBC 15 and nbc15.com for continuing coverage.