The woman accused of escaping from a Michigan prison 36 years ago has decided to fight an extradition order against her.
An attorney for Jamie Lewis – the woman police believe is actually Judy Lynn Hayman – invoked her client's Fifth Amendment Rights during her extradition hearing Thursday morning, meaning she never confirmed or denied that she is actually Hayman.
Instead, Lewis' attorney said Lewis will contest efforts by prosecutors in Michigan and San Diego to send her back to Michigan.
“There may come a point when she will make an admission or a denial, but at this point in time, we are just setting the dates that are necessary for her to have all of her rights met here in California,” said her defense attorney Lisa Damiani.
The Michigan Department of Corrections has ordered Hayman to be returned to that state to face charges for escaping from the Huron Valley Correctional Facility in 1977 after serving 10 months of at least a 16-month sentence for attempted larceny.
Michigan officials recently found her living in the San Diego area, so San Diego police arrested her Wednesday at her Hillcrest apartment.
Because the 60-year-old suspected fugitive decided to fight extradition, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office had to file a fugitive complaint.
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Lewis is expected to be arraigned and plead not guilty to that complaint Friday, and at that point, a judge will set the date within 10 days for her identity hearing.
