Phillips man deemed incompetent to stand trial in airport standoff

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - A Phillips man facing a federal charge related to a standoff at the Central Nebraska Nebraska Regional Airport has been found incompetent to stand trial.

A U.S. District Court judge said on Friday during a competency hearing that Tyler Caudill, 20, is currently mentally incompetent and unable to stand trial. He will be remanded to the custody of the Attorney General of the United States for mental health and cognitive care and treatment.

According to federal court documents, Caudill is charged with unlawful user in possession of a firearm.

Caudill was arrested following a standoff with police at the Grand Island airport on May 4. Grand Island Police said Caudill trespassed onto a private jet with a weapon, where he then refused to surrender and was manipulating the jet’s controls.

An hour and a half later, the tactical response team and police K-9s were used to get him to come off the plane with his hands up.

Caudill is also the reason Kearney High went into a “secure lockout.”