JEFF REINITZ Courier Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 12:00 am
WATERLOO
Benjamin O'Donnell will remain in California until he has a chance to consult with his Waterloo attorney.
O'Donnell, 22, one of the last people to see murder victim Tracy Carson alive, was arrested in Lockwood, Calif., last week for allegedly violating his Iowa probation.
He declined to waive extradition and remains in the Monterey County Jail. A hearing has been scheduled for Friday.
California authorities offered O'Donnell the representation of a public defender, but he chose to wait to talk with his own attorney from Waterloo, police said.
O'Donnell is being held without bond for allegedly violating probation for charges of lottery ticket fraud, possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of a traffic control device.
He has not been charged in Carson's slaying.
Her body was discovered in Crane Creek on April 25, more than six months after she disappeared during her 40th birthday party.
During their investigation into Carson's disappearance, police arrested O'Donnell after they allegedly found marijuana and a "No Parking Fire Lane" sign during an October search of the Evansdale home he shares with his grandparents.
After Carson's body was found, authorities were unable to locate O'Donnell until they received a tip he was in California. Waterloo officers went to Lockwood and found him in a mobile home park.
Police have said Carson was with O'Donnell and others at another person's home the night she disappeared.