Kentucky man suspected in multi-state crime spree agrees to return home

A Kentucky 18-year-old who police say went on a multi-state crime spree with his underage girlfriend agreed Monday to return home to face multiple felony charges.

Dalton Hayes agreed to waive extradition proceedings, according to a jail records clerk in Florida, where the two were taken into custody.

Hayes’ 13-year-old girlfriend will face charges in juvenile court because she is a minor.

Both teens are wanted in Kentucky, where they will face charges including burglary, theft, criminal trespassing and criminal mischief, said Norman Chaffins, sheriff of Grayson County, Ky. Hayes faces an additional charge of custodial interference for taking his girlfriend away from her parents.

Hayes and his girlfriend were arrested around midnight Sunday in Panama City Beach, Fla. Officials allege the two had been on a two-week crime spree in which they stole three vehicles, damaged property and evaded police.

Members of the U.S. Marshal’s Service and local law enforcement officers in Panama City Beach discovered the two asleep in a truck that authorities say they stole in Georgia, according to Chaffins.

Hayes’ mother, Tammy Martin, urged her son to come home in a Facebook post last week. In an interview with the Associated Press, Martin said the two had been dating for about three months and that the 13-year-old girl portrayed herself as being 19.

When Hayes left Kentucky earlier this month, he was dodging trouble at home. He is facing burglary and theft charges stemming from an arrest late last year, according to Grayson County court records.

“Obviously we’re very pleased with the outcome,” Chaffins said. “This is the best-case scenario we could have hoped for.”