Texas U.S. Attorney's Office: Keyes to be Flown to Alaska for Hearings

March 16, 2012|By Christine Kim | Channel 2 News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Texas U.S. Attorney's office said Israel Keyes, the "person of interest" arrested in the Samantha Koenig abduction case, will be transported back to Alaska for court hearings.

The Jefferson County Downtown Jail in Beaumont, Texas confirmed Friday that Keyes is being held at its facility and that he's been there since Wednesday.

Keyes was arrested on Tuesday in a parking lot in Lufkin, Texas, after a Texas state trooper pulled him over for a traffic violation.

A U.S. Attorney said Keyes is charged with access device fraud -- making a transaction with someone else's access device, like a credit or debit card. Because Keyes is facing a federal charge, he's under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Marshal's Service.

Details related to his charge remain sealed under a federal arrest warrant, but according to the criminal complaint filed against Keyes, the violation happened in Alaska.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Texas said Thursday that Keyes agreed to waive his detention or bail hearing until he gets to Alaska, where all of the court proceedings will happen.

The U.S. Marshals Service will fly Keyes to Alaska through its airlift, which runs weekly, but a spokesperson said it could take up to a month.

Court filings this week said John D. McElroy was appointed as Keyes' public defender Wednesday.

Meanwhile, neighbors of a Turnagain home where Keyes stayed said he largely kept to himself in the neighborhood, while Anchorage police want to speak with people who did business with his contracting company, Keyes Construction.

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