Suspected Synagogue Bomber Heading Back to Los Angeles

suspect will head back west to face charges following an extradition hearing in Cleveland on Wednesday afternoon.

Hirsch appeared in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, facing a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The charge carries a maximum five-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $250,000.

He is facing a total of four federal charges, which could put him behind bars for life.

Hirsch waived his right to have hearings in Cleveland and opted to have them moved to the U.S. District Court Central District of California, where a criminal complaint had been filed against him. Hirsch will remain in federal custody until he appears in court in California on an undetermined date.

He will be transported to Los Angeles by U.S. Marshals, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. "I do not have a timetable on the transfer," she added.

Hirsch has been linked to the explosion that occurred Thursday at the Chabad House Lubavitch. He was arrested in Cleveland Heights on Monday night.

Authorities had been pursuing Hirsch since Friday. No one was injured in the incident, and the motive behind it is still unclear.

Hirsch had bought a New York-bound Greyhound bus ticket after the bombing and was supposed to arrive on Sunday, but instead he went to the Kollel Torah L.I.F.E. building on South Taylor Road, across from the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland. 

Hirsch appeared to be an "innocent old soul," said Jerry Elliot, who said he stayed in a hotel in Beachwood Sunday night and returned to the Orthodox Jewish study center on Monday.

Elliot said he thought he was studying, like everyone else in the room, but it was odd that he wore "beach clothes" and not the traditional black suit.

A "concerned citizen" called, and the Cleveland Heights Police arrested him just before 7 p.m., according to a press release from the department and the FBI. 

“He’s anxious to get back to California and defend these charges against him,” said Daniel Chaplin, a private attorney who represented Hirsch.

He did not say why Hirsch ended up in Cleveland Heights.

“He asserts his innocence,” Chaplin said.

Before the 10-minute hearing began, Hirsch sat slouched, his wrists resting on his legs, hands folded, eyebrows arched and grinned every so often.

Suddenly he looked over at the crowd to his left, smiled and waved. 

Hirsch waived his right to an identity hearing and confirmed his name was Ron Hirsch. He also waived his right to a preliminary hearing and detention hearing in Cleveland, as was his option because the charges came from another district. 

Chaplin will not be Hirsch’s attorney in California, and he did not say who will take over. 

Story first appeared on Cleveland Heights Patch.