A fugitive who caused a woman’s death in a speedboat crash on the Thames will be held in a Georgian jail for three months while he faces possible extradition.
Jack Shepherd was told he would be detained in the Eastern European nation when he appeared before a court in Tbilisi on Friday after surrendering to police earlier this week.
The court heard Shepherd, who went on the run before he was due to stand trial over the death of Charlotte Brown, had been hiding in the country since March last year.
Ms Brown, 24, died after plunging into the icy River Thames when Shepherd crashed his boat during a date in December 2015.
Shepherd was convicted in absence at the Old Bailey last year after jurors found him guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.
He was sentenced to six years in prison, but remained at large, with police at one point admitting they were even unsure as to whether or not he had fled the country.
Shepherd was told by the court he would be kept behind bars while Britain’s request to extradite him was being considered.
Speaking ahead of the court appearance, Tariel Kakabadze, Shepherd’s lawyer in Georgia, said his client could be detained for up to nine months before extradition under laws in the ex-Soviet state.
Assisted by an interpreter, Shepherd told the court he deeply regretted the incident that led to Ms Brown’s death, which had left him depressed and suicidal.
Defence lawyers said the 31-year-old should not be extradited because he was warned in a phone call his life might be in danger if he goes to jail in the UK.
Shepherd told the court he wished he had sat down with Ms Brown’s family to explain what had happened at the time and that he was handing himself in to bring closure to the crash and its consequences.
The court also heard Shepherd had alcohol dependency and wanted to conduct the appeal against his conviction, already lodged in British courts, from Georgia.
Ms Brown’s family had made numerous appeals for Shepherd to hand himself in to authorities during his time on the run.
Wearing a long beard and a smile and flanked by lawyers, he finally did just that on Wednesday in the Georgian capital.
The Crown Prosecution Service has said it is “consulting with the authorities in Georgia to progress our extradition request”.
Prosecutors are required to apply for restriction measures for a person wanted in another country within 48 hours of them being arrested.
Cabinet ministers were among those celebrating his surrender and Theresa May’s official spokesman said the prime minister “welcomes the news that he is now in custody”.
“The government will now work alongside the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that extradition proceedings are expedited,” the spokesman added.
Additional reporting by PA
