Higgins silent at extradition hearing

CHICAGO, Ill. (WOOD) - Javonte Higgins, suspected in the murders of an elderly Kentwood couple in early January, will stay in Chicago another 60 to 90 days after refusing to talk to a Cook County judge on Wednesday.

Higgins, 22, appeared briefly in the Cook County Criminal Court for an extradition hearing to determine whether a judge would send him back to Kent County.

Court guards wheeled Higgins into the courtroom in a wheelchair. He apparently is still suffering from injuries sustained in a December police chase and subsequent crash.

Guards told 24 Hour News 8 he has been combative at the Cook County Jail. He appeared to have two black eyes, though it's not clear why.

When the judge asked, "What is your name, sir?" Higgins refused to respond.

The judge then asked Higgins' court-appointed attorney whether Higgins would waive his extradition, but the attorney shrugged. Higgins wasn't talking to him either.

That forced Judge James Brown to order Higgins back to the Cook County Jail. He set the next extradition hearing for April 22 in Chicago.

Cook County Sheriff's officials say they expect by then to receive a governor's warrant -- signed by governors of Michigan and Illinois. That would allow the judge to force Higgins back to Kent County. They say the April 22 hearing could be moved up if they get that warrant sooner.

After that, Kent County sheriff's deputies would be given up to 30 days to pick him up.

Higgins is a suspect in the Jan. 5 killings of 81-year-old David Bouwman and his 80-year-old wife Vivian inside their home. After they were killed, their 2001 Cadillac DeVille was stolen, driven four miles to a Wyoming apartment complex, doused with an accelerant and set on fire.

Higgins was arrested Jan. 18 in Blue Island, Ill. -- a Chicago suburb -- for outstanding felony warrants related to a December 2012 home invasion, stolen pickup and police chase in Wyoming.

During that police chase, he crashed the stolen pickup and ended up in a Grand Rapids hospital with broken bones among his critical injuries.

Higgins decided on his own, against doctors' orders, police say, to walk out of the hospital. Police said the hospital staff did call them, but that he left in a taxi before they could get there.

A warrant wasn't written until after Higgins disappeared.