SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- An Iowa man whose flight from Puerto Rico six years ago led to a Supreme Court decision overturning a pre-Civil War high court ruling voluntarily returned to San Juan Wednesday to face a murder charge.
Ronald M. Calder, 47, of Des Moines, surrendered to commonwealth Justice Department officials and was sent to the Rio Piedras State Penitentiary in San Juan pending a Friday arraignment, officials said.
The former federal air traffic controller arrived in Puerto Rico Tuesday accompanied by his wife, Jeanne, and two lawyers.
Calder declined to talk to reporters at the airport and the party quickly left for a hotel, but his wife told reporters Calder returned so 'we can put all this behind us.'
Two Iowa governors had refused to extradite Calder to Puerto Rico, where he faced a first-degree murder charge in the 1981 traffic death of Amy Villalba de Jesus, a pregnant Venezuelan.
Calder has contended that he ran over Villalba by accident as he fled from her husband, Antonio de Jesus, who was wielding a metal pipe. But Puerto Rican police said witnesses allege he ran over the woman deliberately three times following the argument with her husband.
Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court -- acting on a Puerto Rican suit to force Calder's extradition -- ruled that governors can be compelled by federal judges to comply with another governor's extradition order.
In fighting extradition, Calder had argued that he did not believe a resident of the continental United States with no ties to the Spanish-speaking commonwealth could receive a fair trial in Puerto Rico.
Calder was charged initially with involuntary manslaughter and was freed on $5,000 bail. While free on bail, Calder fled to his home state. Authorities then charged Calder with first-degree murder and bail was set in his absence at $300,000.
Commonwealth Superior Court Judge Carlos Rivera Martinez Wednesday continued bail at $300,000, remanded Calder to the state penitentiary and set a Nov. 17 trial date. Justice Department officials told reporters Calder would be placed in a special section of the prison to guarantee his safety.
