Detective: Taking Miura to Calif. is overdue

Rick Jackson, a detective from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, who has been involved in the case against Kazuyoshi Miura for 20 years now, said upon his arrival on Saipan Tuesday night that taking the Japanese businessman back to California “is overdue.”

As this developed, the Attorney General’s Office filed yesterday a motion asking the Superior Court to release Miura’s passport so it could begin the process for his extradition.

In a press conference at the Saipan airport attended by dozens of Japanese media, Jackson said he’s been involved in the case since 1988, so it’s good to get the 61-year-old Miura back to California where the businessman is facing charges for the 1981 fatal shooting of his wife.

“He’s never been back there that we know of since the warrant was issued in 1988, so it’s overdue and we’ll proceed how the courts allow us to,” said the detective.

Jackson arrived on island Tuesday, along with detectives Richard Bengtson, Timothy Marcia, and officer Eri Poss.

Except for Marcia, it was the second time for the LAPD detectives to be here. The first was on Sept. 15 but they had to leave empty-handed after the CNMI Supreme Court granted Miura’s request to stay the extradition order pending his appeal.

Jackson said that right now the conspiracy charge will remain part of the case and whether or not it is going to be appealed is to be seen by both Miura’s defense counsel and the prosecutors.

“We may appeal and see if we can still continue with the murder [charge] as well. We don’t know yet,” he added.

On Sept. 29, Miura withdrew the petition for habeas corpus that he filed in federal court. Jackson said they wanted to get Miura as soon as they could but at that time, they had a 1988 murder case that went to trial, during which his partner, Bengtson, was in court.

“We actually finished that [trial] on Friday. We got a conviction from the 1988 murder case, which is ironic because that’s the same year that we got the warrant for Mr. Miura for the murder and the conspiracy charges in this case. So that was a good win for us,” he said.

Jackson said there will be a preliminary hearing in Miura’s case, but they’re not sure when that would occur.

The detective said they’re going to have a meeting with Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Warfield Sr., who handled the extradition case, and other officials from the Attorney General’s Office.

“We will be here for a day and a half…a couple of days. We are not sure yet. Things could change with our schedule,” he said.

The LAPD detectives were mum as to the day when they will fly Miura to California.

Jackson, however, stated that it is his understanding that there will be a press release later in the week in L.A., indicating their arrival in California.

The detectives said they have not worked out the particulars on how they are going to take Miura or whether he is going to be brought somewhere else.

“We don’t know. We are going to work with the authorities here and go by their judgment. They know the system better here. …We work with them,” Jackson said.

Once in California, he said Miura will probably be brought to the jail division of LAPD’s police headquarters.

“It is not a maximum security facility. He can’t walk out from it. It is a regular temporary booking security until he goes to court,” he said.

Warfield said they are pleased that the LAPD detectives were able to make it here safely.

“We try to show them some hospitality while they are here the next few days and send them off with Mr. Miura, then it will be over for us,” said Warfield, who was among the CNMI officials who met the detectives at the airport.

“We talked to them tonight and set up something for tomorrow. Right now we want to make sure they get some rest because it’s been a long trip for them,” the prosecutor added.