New York City subway shooting suspect Frank James refused to come to federal court for a scheduled status conference on Wednesday, prompting the judge to order the United States Marshals Service to forcibly bring him in.
"Upon the defendant's refusal to appear before the Court when requested in connection with the above-captioned case, it is hereby: ORDERED that the United States Marshals Service, their agents, and/or designees, use all necessary force to produce the above-named defendant," Judge William Kuntz said Wednesday.
Kuntz scolded Frank James and denied the defense motion to delay the trial, currently set for February.
James allegedly shot 10 people on a Manhattan-bound N train in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, on April 12 before he slipped away on a different train and became the subject of a 24-hour manhunt. No one was killed during the incident.
The following day, several callers to the New York Police Department tipline said a man matching the description of the shooter was wandering around the Lower East Side and East Village.
New York City Police and law enforcement officials lead subway shooting suspect Frank James, center, away from a police station, in New York, April 13, 2022.
Seth Wenig/AP, FILE
James himself was one of those people police believe called into the tipline. The caller claimed police were looking for him and he'd be waiting at a McDonald's at Sixth Street and First Avenue. Police responded to the area and James was arrested without incident a short time later.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of conducting a terror attack against a mass transportation system and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the terror charge.
The second charge also carries the possibility of a life sentence.
