LAMOTTE, Iowa – A LaMotte man accused of terrorizing a Lewiston, Minnesota, woman last week has refused a routine extradition to Minnesota. Steven Michael Conroy, 34, was arrested in LaMotte on a Minnesota warrant. It is Iowa’s right as a sovereign state not to recognize extradition requests from other states. It’s rare, however, for a prisoner to invoke the sovereignty privilege. Usually it is a legal delay tactic that’s resolved in a few days by a local judge who reviews the allegations from the other state and assesses whether the other state’s prosecution will be fair. In occasional high profile cases, the resolution can mean a formal request signed by the governor of one state to the governor of the other state. Extradition cases that reach this level usually are for major crime and capital punishment cases. The core issue in the Conroy case is child support.
Earlier: SWAT team aids arrest for Lewiston violence threats