Governor wants Duncan; feds say he'll stay in Idaho

By: JOHN MILLER - Associated Press | Friday, February 9, 2007 8:47 PM PST ∞

BOISE, Idaho -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has demanded that convicted killer Joseph Edward Duncan III be shipped to his state to be tried for the 1997 slaying of a 10-year-old boy but federal prosecutors here said they expect to complete their prosecution of Duncan first.

Federal prosecutors have charged Duncan with kidnapping and related counts in the 2005 abduction-slaying of a young Idaho boy and the abduction of his sister and plan to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

Schwarzenegger's office faxed The Associated Press a copy of the governor's extradition request Thursday evening. Bill Maile, spokesman for Schwarzenegger, said the request was also sent to Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter.

"Public safety is Gov. Schwarzenegger's highest priority, and he believes justice must be served in this case," Maile said.

U.S. Attorney Tom Moss in Boise charged Duncan last month with 10 felony counts, including kidnapping resulting in the torture and sex slaying of 9-year-old Dylan Groene. Duncan is also charged with kidnapping Shasta Groene, then 8 years old. She was the lone survivor of a 2005 attack on her Coeur d'Alene-area home. The little girl was rescued July 2, 2005 at a Coeur d'Alene restaurant where Duncan was arrested.

Moss's office says it expects Duncan to remain in Idaho, despite Schwarzenegger's demand.

"We believe we have custody," said Jean McNeil, a Moss spokeswoman. "This is a state-to-state matter. It will go through the governor's office, and the attorney general's office, and we are out of the loop."

Jon Hanian, an Otter spokesman, said late Thursday that Otter had yet to see the request. Otter will likely defer to law enforcement in Idaho, including the U.S. attorney, on where Duncan should be prosecuted first, Hanian said.

On April 4, 1997, Anthony Martinez was forced into a white car in Beaumont, Calif. Sixteen days later, a forest ranger found the boy's nude, bound body about 70 miles to the east. The slaying remained unsolved until Duncan's 2005 arrest, after which California investigators found Duncan's partial fingerprint on duct tape used to bind the boy.

Last October, Duncan pleaded guilty in Idaho's 1st District Court to first-degree murder and kidnapping charges for three slayings at the Coeur d'Alene home. Brenda Groene, her fiance, Mark McKenzie, and Groene's 13-year-old son, Slade Groene, were bludgeoned to death with a hammer during the May 16, 2005, attack. Brenda Groene was also the mother of the two abducted children.

A state judge sentenced Duncan to life in prison without parole for the kidnappings, but sentencing on the murder counts was deferred while the federal government prepared its charges against Duncan.

Duncan, who has spent much of his life behind bars following his 1980 conviction for raping a 14-year-old boy in Tacoma, Wash., at the point of a stolen gun, is also suspected of killing Carmen Cubias, 9, and Sammiejo White, 11, in Washington state in July 1996 while he was out of prison on parole.

Federal prosecutors say Duncan has acknowledged the Washington and California slayings, though Seattle-area law enforcement agents contend his statements in those cases made to FBI agents stopped short of a confession.

Duncan was charged in Riverside County in the Martinez slaying last month. Prosecutors in that case also intend to seek the death penalty.

Rod Pacheco, Riverside County's district attorney, told the AP he wants to prosecute Duncan before his decade-old case is further extended by a potentially lengthy federal prosecution. A federal trial has been set for March 20, but Duncan's lawyers say they'll ask for an extension.

"We're ready to go," Pacheco said. "What I think is a dramatic distinction between their case and ours, ours is 10 years old. It's going to make it even more difficult to hold him accountable. If you wait for the U.S. attorney's office, it's a few more years."

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.