A convicted murderer mistakenly released from the Clayton County jail last month is awaiting extradition from Florida and will be transferred directly to a state prison, officials confirmed Wednesday.
Kathan Guzman was taken back into custody by U.S. marshals at a family member’s home in Florida on April 11. That was two weeks after deputies at the Clayton jail let him walk free despite the life sentence he was serving.
Florida court records show Guzman signed a waiver of extradition in open court in a hearing Tuesday. A copy of the waiver, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, does not specify the date of his return.
A spokesperson for the Orange County jail, where Guzman remains housed, said the pickup can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
The Georgia Department of Corrections confirmed he will be transferred into their custody, but also did not say when he’ll be back in the state.
Guzman was sentenced to life in prison for choking Delila Grayson, 19, to death at Sutter Lake apartments in August 2022. He was released in error five months after his conviction but before he was transferred to prison.
The news of his release became public only when the Clayton District Attorney’s Office alerted the family of the woman he killed.
The sheriff’s office also discovered the mistake from the DA, 12 days after Guzman was let out of jail, Sheriff Levon Allen said in a statement the day Guzman was caught.
At the time, Allen said the cause of the mistaken release is under investigation. The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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