Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal
Less than an hour after he waived extradition Wednesday in a Douglas County courtroom, shooting suspect Johannes Sebastian Mehserle was on his way back to Oakland where he was charged with murder.
Alameda County officials were waiting for Mehserle, 27, after a five-minute appearance in East Fork Justice Court, where he agreed not to fight a return to California.
The former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer is accused of the New Year's Day shooting death of Oscar Grant, 22, who was believed to be unarmed and handcuffed. The incident touched off protests, including one Wednesday outside Oakland City Hall. A rally last week turned violent, resulting in more than 100 arrests and damage to dozens of businesses.
Mehserle was arrested Tuesday night at a home in Zephyr Cove and held in Douglas County Jail without bail.
Undersheriff Paul Howell said he believed Mehserle traveled to Nevada for his own safety.
"He just wanted to get out of the Bay Area due to the magnitude of the incident," Howell said. "He wasn't trying to run."
Mehserle wore dark blue jail-issue clothing and wrist and leg irons as about a dozen members of the media and two dozen law enforcement officers filled the courtroom.
Jail staff said Mehserle had been cooperative and was housed in a segregated area on a precautionary health and welfare watch.
His arrest came 12 days after witnesses said he fired into the back of 22-year-old Oscar Grant while the man was lying face down on a train platform at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in Oakland. Grant and others had been pulled off a train after reports of fighting on New Year's Eve.
The shooting was captured on cell phone cameras and widely viewed on the Internet.
- The Associated Press contributed to this report.