LONG-AGO FUGITIVE TO BE EXTRADITED

Detroit - A man who walked away from a Virginia prison farm 25
years ago and led an ``exemplary life'' in Michigan under the
protection of the governor can be sent back to face charges, an
appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The state Court of Appeals refused to block the extradition of Alfred
Martin, who was convicted in Virginia of selling $10 worth of
marijuana and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Then-Gov. William Milliken refused to extradite Martin 22 years ago,
in effect granting him legal asylum in Michigan. But the charges
surfaced again last month, when the 49-year-old Martin was stopped for
allegedly driving with expired license plates.

Circuit Judge William Cahalan ruled Monday he had no choice but to
honor Virginia's request for Martin's return.

After the appeals court sided with Cahalan, Martin's lawyers appealed
to the Michigan Supreme Court and requested an emergency order to
block the extradition. There was no word Tuesday on whether the
Supreme Court would consider the request.

Cahalan said Martin had lived an ``exemplary'' life since his
conviction and called him and his family ``a credit to Michigan.''

In a statement asking the judge to give him a chance to exhaust his
legal options, Martin said, ``I've worked all my life to be a good
citizen and a good husband and father.''

After serving two days on the marijuana conviction, Martin walked away
from the prison farm in Martinsville, Va. He now faces charges of
escape and conversion by larceny, stemming from allegations he never
paid off a television and stereo system he bought on an installment
plan from a Martinsville store.

For now, Martin will stay in the Wayne County Jail.

``This man committed several felonies in the state of Virginia. He
needs to come back to Virginia and be tried for them,'' said Lila
Young, spokeswoman for Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.

Martin had established a life in Michigan: he married, raised three children,
went to work as a broker for a mortgage company. Back in 1976, Sen. Carl
Levin, a Detroit City Council member at the time, and Rep. John Conyers
supported Martin's case. Levin is vacationing abroad and unavailable for
comment, his spokesman said. Conyers' chief of staff did not return a phone
call.

Milliken did not return a telephone message Tuesday.

Gov. John Engler signed Martin's extradition warrant on Dec. 4. His
spokesman, John Truscott, said governors have less leeway today to
ignore extradition requests due to a series of Supreme Court rulings
in the late 1980s.

Martinsville prosecutor Joan Zigler said Martin would have served only
three months had he not escaped. The rest of his 10-year sentence
would have been probation, she said.

If returned to Virginia, Martin could be ordered to serve the entire
10-year sentence, Zigler said. He faces up to five years for escape.

Checked-by: derek rea