Published January 13, 2015
A Florida homicide suspect who perched atop a construction crane for 56 hours said Tuesday he will fight extradition back to the state where he is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend.
Carl Edward Roland (search), 41, was in Fulton County Superior Court for a hearing to discuss his return to Pinellas County, Fla., where he is charged with strangling Jennifer Gonzalez. The 36-year-old's body was found in a retention pond behind her Oldsmar apartment May 24, the day before Roland climbed the crane.
Judge Richard Hicks set a new hearing in the case for July 11. Roland will wait in an Atlanta jail while Florida officials send an extradition warrant for him.
Atlanta police subdued Roland with a stun gun as he crawled toward an officer for a cup of water early Saturday, after spending more than 56 hours on the construction crane above the city's Buckhead neighborhood. He was lowered to the ground from the 350-foot crane and transported to a hospital where he stayed for nearly two days.
Roland's Atlanta standoff has led to additional charges of criminal trespassing, reckless conduct and first-degree criminal damage to property in Atlanta.
Another crane climber was arrested in Atlanta on Monday. Thomas Eugene Robinson scaled a crane in the same section of the city as Roland's standoff, authorities said. However, Robinson, 26, came down from his crane early Tuesday, police said.
"He was lured down with doughnuts and cigarettes," police spokeswoman Marion Lee said. He was arrested on charges of criminal trespass and reckless conduct, she said.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/atlanta-crane-climber-fights-extradition