Prince to Fight Extradition

An attorney for accused serial killer Cleophus Prince Jr. said Tuesday that his client will fight extradition to San Diego, where he has been charged with murdering five women last year in the Clairemont-University City areas.

Roger Appell, who is representing Prince in Birmingham, Ala., said he told Jefferson County District Court Judge Jack Montgomery in a courthouse elevator Tuesday that he would fight extradition.

“He asked me what I was going to do, and I said I didn’t know,” Appell said. “He told me to decide right then and there, so I told him I was going to fight it.”

A hearing is scheduled for this morning in Alabama to determine when an extradition hearing should be set.

At an extradition hearing, San Diego officials will be required to show that their arrest warrant is valid and that it applies to Prince. California Gov. Pete Wilson must also formally request Prince’s extradition from Alabama’s governor.

“This is a capital murder case, and we’ll do everything for Mr. Prince that’s necessary,” Appell said.

It is unclear how long the extradition proceedings could take.

“Depends how quickly they can get all their paperwork together in California,” Appell said.

Prince was arrested in Birmingham on March 3 in the serial stabbing deaths of the five women between Jan. 12, 1990 and Sept. 13, 1990. He is being held without bail at the Jefferson County Jail.