Runaway Kentucky Teen Agrees to Be Extradited
"I'll sign the papers so I can go back to Kentucky," he told the court.
— -- A runaway Kentucky teenager who was found sleeping on a Florida beach with his girlfriend after an alleged multistate crime spree has agreed to be extradited to his home state to be charged.
Dalton Hayes, the 18-year-old who vanished almost two weeks ago with his girlfriend, 13, was shown from jail via video link in a Bay County Court in Florida this morning and agreed to sign a waiver that will allow him to be brought back to Kentucky.
In his first court appearance since the two were apprehended early Sunday morning in Panama City Beach, Hayes made just one statement while appearing in an orange jumpsuit next to a public defender.
"I'll sign the papers so I can go back to Kentucky," he said, according to The Associated Press.
His next court appearance was scheduled for Feb. 6, an employee of the Bay County Jail records department told ABC News, meaning Kentucky law enforcement officials have until that date to pick him up and transfer him.
Hayes and his girlfriend were found asleep in the 2001 Toyota Tundra they allegedly stole in Georgia, the Grayson County Sheriff's Office in Kentucky said.
Hayes' mother, Tammy Martin, spoke with Hayes at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday when he called her from jail in Panama City Beach, she told ABC News later Sunday.
She said Hayes told her "he was sorry and he loves me and he's ready to come face the consequences."
He has not been formally charged with any crimes, as that will come in Kentucky, but he is expected to face burglary, theft, criminal trespassing and criminal mischief charges, the AP reported.
Hayes and his girlfriend allegedly destroyed thousands of dollars in property Jan. 4 by plowing through a Kentucky cattle farm in an allegedly stolen vehicle. Police said the teens then stole a red 2006 Toyota Tacoma. A week later they allegedly cashed a stolen check at a Walmart in Manning, South Carolina,according to Manning Police Chief Blair Shaffer. And they were eventually found Sunday asleep in the 2001 Tundra they also allegedly stole.
The girl's whereabouts have not been publicly released, but a spokeswoman for the Florida's Department of Children and Families said she is not in state custody, according to The Associated Press.
"The juvenile has been taken to a safe location until arrangements with the family are made," DCF spokeswoman DaMonica Rivas told the AP.
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