"He’s facing two different life offense charges or charges that carry the penalty of life if he is found guilty," Chippewa County assistant prosecuting attorney Jillian Sadler said.
A former gas station employee was arraigned on armed robbery and kidnapping charges Wednesday.
9 & 10 News had the only camera in the courtroom as he was charged in the case.
This stems back to an incident in March.
Sault Ste. Marie Police say Thomas Captain robbed the Admiral Gas Station with a handgun, made off with $900 and made the clerk come with him.
Captain eventually turned himself in in Canada where he’s been until Tuesday.
9 & 10’s Blayke Roznowski and photojournalist Noah Jurik take us to the courtroom for arraignment.
It’s been about a month and a half since Sault Ste. Marie City Police say a former employee at the Admiral Gas Station robbed it at gunpoint, kidnapped the clerk and dropped her off about 15 minutes south of here and then made his way to Canada.
Tuesday, police finally were able to get him extradited from Canada and Wednesday, Thomas Captain was formally charged.
"These are all serious offenses," Judge Thomas Solka said. "Two of the offenses charged are life sentences or any term of years up to life."
Captain is charged with armed robbery, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and taking off in a car that wasn’t his.
"We are actually well a month past the date of the offense and that’s because the defendant actually fled to Canada and it’s taken this long to extradite him back to the U.S.," Sadler said.
The extradition process was lengthy even though the investigation wrapped up quickly.
"We do frequently do extradition throughout the other states," Sadler said, "but very rarely do we actually cross the international border." "Canadian law enforcement had to get involved and it was the Canadian courts that actually do the extradition process."
Over concern of Captain being a flight risk, the judge set his bond at $500,000.
"I realize Thomas is coming in front of the court on some very serious charges," the public defender Jennifer France said.
Captain is scheduled to be back in court in less than two weeks.
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