AUGUSTA, Georgia. — A former University of Maine football player accused of wounding the mother of his child and fatally stabbing a man in Florida on March 7 lost his battle against extradition Thursday in Georgia, where he was caught days after the crime, a jail official said.
Zedric Joseph, 24, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was arrested in Georgia on March 12 in connection with the double stabbing in his hometown that claimed the life of Ricardy Chery, 23, and injured Vashti Laurore, 23, who is the mother of Joseph’s daughter.
Florida law enforcement had to apply for a warrant from the governor of Georgia to extradite Joseph after he refused to sign the waiver of extradition paperwork two months ago.
He went before Richmond County Chief Magistrate Court Judge William D. Jennings III at the judicial center in Augusta, Georgia, on Thursday afternoon, and the judge granted Florida’s request, Capt. William Reeves of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said.
“We are in the process of contacting Florida to see when they can pick him up,” the captain said by phone.
Joseph is expected to be formally charged with murder and two counts of aggravated assault once he is returned to Florida.
Florida police went to Quail Lake Drive in Joseph’s hometown on March 7 and found Chery with multiple stab wounds and Laurore with a stab wound to her hand, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera has said.
Once Joseph is returned to Florida and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail, more information about the crime will be released, she said Thursday.
Joseph lived with Laurore, her son, and their child in Orono in 2012, when he was accused of attacking her. UMaine police arrested Joseph for domestic violence assault, domestic violence criminal threatening and misdemeanor assault on Dec. 17, 2012, after Laurore, whose name is spelled Vasthi Laurori in Maine court documents, told officers that he had strangled her twice and threatened to kill her in a jealous rage.
The case was later plea-bargained to disorderly conduct, for which Joseph spent 48 hours in jail. He also was intermittently suspended from the school and the football team, UMaine officials have said, declining to provide details of the disciplinary action taken but was back on the football field that fall.
He was suspended March 8 from the university, where he was studying child development and family relations.
Joseph was arrested by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office on the warrant out of Florida and has been held at the Richmond County Jail in Augusta, Georgia, for the last two months.
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