Boston Marathon Hoax Suspect Faces Up to 20 Years In Jail If Convicted

One terrible prank gone wrong ended up costing one man more trouble than he surely suspected as his Boston marathon hoax went a step too far; a mistake that could cost him 20 years in jail if convicted. A self-styled performance artist accused of dropping a rice cooker concealed in a backpack on Boylston Street on the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings while in disguise as a beekeeper in mourning has been deemed competent to stand trial after a psychiatric evaluation, prosecutors announced today.

Shackled up, Kevin “Kayvon” Edson, 25, of Wakefield, cried as assistant Suffolk District Attorney Susan Terrey told Boston Municipal Court Judge Thomas Horgan the government will move forward with charges of possession of a hoax explosive device, threats to commit a crime as well as disorderly conduct. Edson faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Kevin Edson faces up to 20 years in jail after he was deemed competent to stand trail for his Boston Marathon hoax. Suffolk’s DA Office

Horgan did agree to reduce Edson’s $100,000 cash bail to $50,000 and ordered him to return to court June 3 for a probable cause hearing. Defense attorney Shannon Lopez said she will file a motion to dismiss charges, telling the judge, “This is a defensible case.”

Horgan warned Terrey that if her office had not indicted Edson by next month, “bail will be revisited.”

Edson was forced to order a GPS bracelet, stay on his prescribed medication and file a mental health treatment if he posts bail.

Family of Edson, as well as some of his classmates and professors, crammed into Hogan’s courtroom for the hearing, yet none would comment on anything as they left.

Lopez indicated that The Massachusetts College of Arts and Design has allowed Edson to take a leave of absence and that he is “not a danger to the community”.

Edson’s Boston Marathon hoax pulled on April 15 took place just after tributes to three spectators who were killed and more than 260 others injured in the finish-line terrorist attack the previous year concluded in Copley Square. Vice President Joe Biden was among the dignitaries present.