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new Orleans Prison escapee Derrick Groves, who spent nearly five months on the run before being recaptured Georgiaagreed to return louisiana In Thursday’s court appearance.
“I want to go back where I’m from,” said Groves, a New Orleans native. Fulton County Magistrate judge during televised hearing.
Groves, who was recaptured Wednesday beneath a basement crawlspace atlanta home, waived his right to an extradition hearing.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said that “discussions are ongoing about next steps” to bring Groves back to the state.
A timeline for bringing the 28-year-old man to the state has not yet been set, said Sgt. Kate Stegall, Louisiana State Police spokeswoman. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Groves was already charged with one count of simple escape in June and will stand trial on those charges once in Louisiana where he will be held in state maximum security in Angola, Murrill said. The charges carry a punishment of two to five years.
Murrill said Wednesday that she was considering upgrading Groves’ charge to aggravated escape — which carries a sentence of five to 10 years — given that authorities found a handgun, a shotgun and 20 pounds of marijuana inside the Atlanta home where Groves was hiding.
In May, Groves and nine other inmates at a New Orleans prison removed a toilet and crawled through a hole, writing “Too Easy LOL” on the wall above to commemorate their daring escape. Other escapees, who were recaptured within six weeks, were also charged with simple rape.
Groves already faces life in prison after pleading guilty to murder last year for shooting two people to death during a family block party on Mardi Gras Day in 2018.
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Brooke is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.