Los Angeles ? Charles Madrid has been struggling with anger management issues for years.

The 50-year-old radio technician from Pacoima, a neighborhood on the northern edge of Los Angeles, has been known to lose his temper over everything from dirty dishes in the kitchen sink to the war in Iraq.

His mother says he’s harmless. But after a recent outburst in which he allegedly threatened to kill President Bush, the U.S. Secret Service isn’t so sure.

Madrid was arrested last week and is being held in a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles. A hearing is set for today, at which a judge is expected to determine whether Madrid is suitable to be released on bail.

Before his arrest on Tuesday, authorities, concerned that Madrid’s threat may have been prompted by mental illness, took him for evaluation. The doctor who examined him concluded that Madrid was not mentally ill “but has a severe anger problem,” according to an affidavit by Secret Service Special Agent Kelly O’Hara.

O’Hara, who interviewed Madrid at the hospital, wrote in the affidavit that Madrid admitted to threatening to kill the president earlier in the day in front of a police officer. When O’Hara asked Madrid what he would do if Bush were present right at that moment, he allegedly responded: “I’d deck his ass.”

He added that Vice President Dick Cheney also “needs an ass kicking,” the affidavit states.