Cody Wilson arrested in Taiwan, extradition process begins
It appears that Cody Wilson was hiding in plain sight.
He was captured in the Wanhau District of Taiwan's capitol city of Taipei.
"It is a delicate process,” said former U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. That process can be tricky because Taiwan does not have a formal extradition treaty with the United States.
Despite that though, Sutton is not surprised how quickly Wilson was caught.
Read Cody Wilson being held at detention center in Taipei, according to Fox News source
"The surveillance cameras, the credit cards, make it where its very easy to get a red flag pop up on somebody that you are searching for, and that’s probably what happened in this case,” said Sutton.
Cody Wilson arrived in Taipei September 6th. He checked into a luxury hotel but later left by taxi. He reportedly met with a real estate agent. Put down a deposit on a six month lease for a studio apartment, but failed to pick up the key. Friday, Wilson was tracked to the Wanhau District.
Sources tell FOX 7 he checked into a hotel using his real name.
Sources tell FOX 7 Austin that Wilson gave up without a fight. Officers went to his hotel door, knocked on it. He answered and gave up. No weapons were found in the room.
Wilson's passport had been revoked making it possible for authorities to pick him up.
Arrangements for his return to Austin are expected to start Saturday.
Read Cody Wilson, 3D-printed gun activist, charged with sexual assault
He could try to prevent being turned over to American authorities. "He could certainly try to stop it, he could hire a lawyer in Taiwan try to slow it down, and hire lawyers here as well as well, but a lot of times that doesn't work as well as you think once his passport is revoked, and Taiwan says you really have no legal way to stay in our country, they could put him on a plane and send him,” said Sutton.
Private investigator Phil Klein on Thursday warned this could be a long search unless Wilson made a critical mistake. Clearly the mistake that was made was Wilson using his real name to check into that hotel. What remains unclear is why Wilson chose Taiwan in the first place.
Klein believes the country was a potential spring board to another location. "The problem is, Asia and some of the countries in Asia in some ways support pedophile and don’t see it as a crime,” said Klein.
Cody Wilson first made headlines when he announced plans to post online information on how to make an untraceable gun with a 3D printer. While that triggered a federal court battle, he's being brought back to Austin to face a felony charge. According to these court documents, Wilson is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl after meeting her on an adult website.