Woman arrested for 1977 prison break refuses extradition to Michigan

SAN DIEGO — The woman arrested for a 1977 prison escape in Michigan refused Thursday to voluntarily submit to extradition, insisting in court that police arrested the wrong woman.

In a brief hearing in San Diego County Superior Court, the woman identified by police as Judy Lynn Hayman said she was not Hayman.

The woman’s refusal will require additional court hearings, including a possible formal request from the governor of Michigan that she be extradited to finish her sentence on a shoplifting conviction. Meanwhile, the woman will remain in jail without bail.

Prosecutors identified the woman in court as Hayman, now 60 years old.

Acting on a request from the Michigan Department of Corrections, three San Diego police officers went to her modest apartment in the Hillcrest neighborhood on Monday afternoon, armed with mug shots from 1976.

The woman answering the door insisted that she was Jamie Lewis, one of several aliases that Hayman has used, according to Michigan authorities.

The lead officer knew he had found Hayman, said Lt. Kevin Mayer: “To him, the eyes looked like the suspect.”

When Hayman was convicted of larceny in 1976, she already had convictions for disorderly conduct, drug use and theft. She was sentenced to 16 to 24 months at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, Mich.

She escaped after 10 months, probably by walking away from the unfenced facility, authorities said.

Recently, an officer in the Michigan Department of Corrections apprehensions unit selected the records of about 40 escapees from the 1960s and 1970s for review.

Fingerprint cards were sent to the FBI, Social Security records were checked, and the Internet was scoured.

Michigan officials say she was tracked to California by fingerprints from arrests in San Diego, where Hayman apparently has lived for several years.

Once returned to Michigan, Hayman may face a felony charge of escaping from prison, depending on a decision by local prosecutors.

Twitter: @LATsandiego

tony.perry@latimes.com