Karr to be extradited? Or not?

[Guy Himmaparn]

Problems with the outstanding Sonoma County warrant? Or do more serious charges relating to his Thailand trip await him?

 

County's attempt to extradite Karr fails

Deputies travel to Boulder, return without child porn suspect for reasons sheriff says can't be divulged

 

By LORI A. CARTER

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

 

Two Sonoma County sheriff's deputies traveled to Colorado this week to extradite John Mark Karr, but returned empty-handed, sources in both states confirmed Friday.

 

Sheriff Bill Cogbill would not discuss the details of the trip or why deputies left Boulder without bringing back the high-profile defendant on a local warrant for failing to appear at a 2001 hearing on charges of possessing child pornography .

 

But he alluded to larger issues in the case that could affect Sonoma County's five-count misdemeanor prosecution of the former Petaluma substitute teacher who famously confessed, apparently falsely, to the 1996 JonBenet Ramsey slaying .

 

"The dynamics evolve day to day," Cogbill said, adding to the mystery surrounding an already bizarre case. "There are huge dynamics going on that could change the whole course of this." He said he would be able to talk more freely early next week.

 

"There is a whole other dimension to this that I'll probably be able to talk about later, but not today," he said.

 

Cogbill said it is still the intention of local authorities to return Karr, 41, to Sonoma County to face charges.

 

"That could change," he added.

 

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle confirmed that Sonoma County deputies arrived Thursday to transport Karr, but that Karr remained in custody Friday at Boulder County Jail.

 

Neither of the two deputies would discuss the trip, which was described by other sources as a quick turnaround after a flight to Colorado.

 

Colorado prosecutors and court administrators said nothing had changed with Karr's status and that no legal motions had been filed to delay his extradition.

 

After his arrest in Thailand last month, Karr admitted involvement in the killing a decade ago of the 6-year-old beauty queen at the Ramsey family's Boulder home. Karr was deported from Bangkok and then charged with murder upon his return. B ut Karr's DNA failed to match evidence found at the scene and the Boulder County case against him dissolved.

 

Sonoma County authorities then asserted their jurisdiction over Karr for the pending 2001 case and a Boulder judge ordered Karr retrieved by Sept 13. Conviction on the misdemeanor charges, involving computer images of children in sexual situations, could result in jail time and force Karr to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

 

Karr's 2001 arrest on the child porn charges grew out of an investigation into the unsolved murder of 12-year-old Georgia Moses. Karr was audiotaped by a sheriff's informant at that time discussing a "psychic connection" he had to Ramsey and Petaluma murder victim Polly Klaas.

 

One of Karr's attorneys, Gayle Gutekunst of San Francisco, said Friday she hadn't been advised of any problems with the extradition to Santa Rosa. She said extradition could be delayed if Karr had now decided to fight the process.

 

Another possibility for the delay may be that another jurisdiction - possibly the federal government - is interested in Karr in connection with other crimes, Sonoma County Public Defender John Abrahams said.

 

A 3-year-old federal sex-tourism law makes it illegal for Americans to travel to a foreign country to have sex with children. Each count can mean up to 30 years in federal prison.

 

Karr, who has talked and written about his sexual fascination with young girls, was working in Thailand as a teacher of young girls at the time of his arrest.

 

FBI spokesman LaRae Quy in San Francisco said Friday the agency has no interest in Karr.

 

Meanwhile, responses from Cogbill, the Sonoma County sheriff, raised as many questions as they answered.

 

"I'll know more Monday or Tuesday about how everything could play out in this, and it could be completely different than what I think could play out today," he said. "There are some glitches that have to be worked out, but there are also more issues that are not just glitches."

[cavanami]

Can you say...fluster cuck???

 

Looks like our finest are getting their air miles for next years vacation!

 

 

[Guy Himmaparn]

It will be interesting to see what the feds have planned for this guy, and what reason they give for not stopping the Sonoma Sheriffs from making a wasted trip. I hope it is part of a greater plan and not simply another fuck-up.

[Guy Himmaparn]

 

Sonoma, rather than the feds, will be prosecuting after all... no champaign on this flight...

 

 

---------------------------------

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY SUSPECT JOHN KARR IN SONOMA COUNTY CUSTODY

---------------------------------

Posted Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 8:37, PM

On Tuesday, September 12, 2006 Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies took

custody of John Karr from Boulder County, Colorado authorities. Karr was

transported via common carrier airline to Oakland International

Airport. Sheriff's deputies then drove Karr to the Sonoma County Sheriff's

Main Adult Detention Facility in Santa Rosa. He was booked at 8:05 PM

for a 2001 no-bail arrest warrant charging five misdemeanor counts of 311

PC -- possession of child pornography.

 

In response to earlier media inquiries, Sonoma County Sheriff's

deputies were in Boulder Colorado on September 7, 2006 for the purpose of

extraditing Karr. This effort was abandoned due to an evolving prospect of

federal authorities adopting our 2001 misdemeanor charges for federal

prosecution. At this point, we have excluded this option.

 

If any further information concerning John Karr's status is to be

released, it will be provided by the Sonoma County District Attorney's

Office, who will be prosecuting this case.

 

Prepared by: Lt. Dave Edmonds, reference CR#010402-04