NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans jail escapee Derrick Groves, who spent nearly five months on the run before being recaptured in Georgia, agreed to be returned to Louisiana in a Thursday court appearance.
“I want to return where I’m from,” Groves, a New Orleans native, told a Fulton County magistrate judge during the televised hearing.
Groves, who was recaptured Wednesday under a basement crawlspace in an Atlanta home, waived his right to an extradition hearing.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said there are “ongoing discussions about the next steps” for bringing Groves back to the state.
A timeline to bring the 28-year-old to the state has not yet been determined, said Sgt. Kate Stegall, a spokesperson with Louisiana State Police. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Groves was already charged with one count of simple escape in June and will be arraigned on those charges once back in Louisiana where he will be placed in the state’s maximum security in Angola, Murrill said. The charges carry a two to five year sentence.
Murrill said Wednesday she is considering upgrading Groves’ charge to aggravated escape — which carries a five to 10 year sentence — given that authorities found a handgun, a shotgun and 20 pounds of marijuana inside the Atlanta home where Groves had been hiding.
In May, Groves and nine other New Orleans jail inmates removed a toilet and crawled through a hole, writing “To Easy LoL” on the wall above to commemorate their brazen escape. The other escapees, who were all recaptured within six weeks, were also charged with simple scape.
Groves already faces life imprisonment after being convicted of murder last year for gunning down two people during a family block party on Mardi Gras day in 2018.
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Brook 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.
By JACK BROOK
Associated Press/Report for America
