Title : Judge rules woman wanted by FBI over hit-and-run can be extradited to the US
link : Judge rules woman wanted by FBI over hit-and-run can be extradited to the US
Judge rules woman wanted by FBI over hit-and-run can be extradited to the US
A ruling by an Adelaide court has paved the way for a woman wanted by the FBI over a fatal hit-and-run crash to be extradited back to the United States.
Key points:
- It is alleged Andrea Chan Reyes hit and killed a cyclist and fled the scene in 2017
- The FBI issued a warrant for Ms Chan Reyes in September 2017
- Adelaide Magistrate David McLeod has refused her bail
Andrea Dorothy Chan Reyes, 33, is wanted in the US for hit-and-run driving, vehicular manslaughter and destroying or concealing evidence.
Prosecutors have alleged she hit and killed a cyclist, 46-year-old Agustin Rodriguez Jr, and fled the scene in Whittier, California in January 2017.
She flew to Hong Kong five days after the crash in a move the FBI claimed was "with intent to avoid prosecution".
The FBI issued a warrant for Ms Chan Reyes' arrest in September 2017, and she has been in custody since her arrest in Adelaide in April last year.
Adelaide Magistrate David McLeod refused to grant Ms Chan Reyes bail and found that she was a flight risk and there were no special circumstances warranting her release from custody.
The US material tendered in court alleged that the accused dragged the cyclist some 274 metres before he fell out onto the road.
She allegedly drove off in her white Lexus and called a crash repairer 30 minutes later and told him she had hit a deer and needed her windscreen to be replaced.
The repairer allegedly noticed damage to the car's front bumper, headlight, hood, right fender and roof.
DNA from bloodstains found in car
In his judgment, Magistrate McLeod said while he accepted that Ms Chan Reyes' mother was unwell and had asked her daughter to visit her in Hong Kong, there was no evidence she had booked the flight until after the crash.
"I cannot say that this was the only reason she left the US at that time," he said.
The court heard DNA from bloodstains on the Lexus were matched to the cyclist.
"There is evidence supporting a provisional finding that she actively sought to evade detection and to suppress evidence by not stopping at the accident scene, having the windscreen quickly repaired and lying to the crash repairer that the windscreen had been damaged by a deer," Magistrate McLeod said.
Magistrate McLeod said given Ms Chan Reyes lived near the crash scene she would likely have been aware of the "substantial public awareness campaign" that was launched two days after the crash.
"Another reason for her departure from the US at the time was likely to evade the authorities rather than remaining and risking being questioned," he said.
Affair with Brisbane man revealed
The judgment detailed that Ms Chan Reyes came to Australia after connecting with a Brisbane man, who would become her employer, through a networking website called "SeekingArrangement".
Magistrate McLeod said the Brisbane man, who was married with children, had an affair with Ms Chan Reyes and also established an "employer/employee relationship".
"She then met and established a relationship with her current partner Mr Blair who also happened to work at the same business," he said.
"While I accept that the respondent and Mr Blair have established a genuine personal relationship, it remains an open question whether the respondent came to Australia for legitimate purposes [for] seeking employment or as a way of further eluding or frustrating authorities by quickly establishing a relationship and putting down roots."
Fugitive 'wants to settle and start a family'
Ms Chan-Reyes claimed she had intended to return to the US, but her work in Australia and relationship with Paul Blair, who has "strong ties to Adelaide", interrupted that plan.
"She claims that the fact that she provided her fingerprints as part of her application for a work visa in Australia demonstrates that she was not hiding from US authorities or seeking to evade them," Magistrate McLeod said.
"She said she intends to live in Adelaide where she and Mr Blair were arranging to live and work … she says she wants to settle here and start a family."
Magistrate McLeod said Ms Chan Reyes had citizenship in the US and Philippines, residency in Hong Kong and an "impressive resume" with qualifications that have enabled her to work at an executive level on a global basis.
He committed her to the Adelaide Women's Prison to await a decision on extradition, which ultimately lies with Australia's Attorney-General Christian Porter.
Ms Chan Reyes has a 15-day window where she can seek a review of Magistrate McLeod's decision.
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