US 'spy' who went back to States after being charged of crash that left British nurse unable to walk was arrested on his Houston base, court hears

An American 'spy' who allegedly crashed into a British nurse in the UK before fleeing to the US was arrested on his base in Houston, a court heard today.

Isac (corr) Calderon, 23, was undergoing two-week training in Texas when the US Marshals apprehended him on an extradition warrant last week.

Calderon appeared at a court in Houston in handcuffs and leg shackles and an orange prison-issue outfit where a judge said that he 'just up and left' the UK rather than face justice there.

The US army Specialist appeared anxious and his parents cried after a judge remanded him in custody for another week.

Calderon is accused of smashing head-on into Elizabeth Donowho, 56, near Shucknall in Herefordshire last July then fleeing to the US.

He was arrested at his home in Houston and is facing extradition proceedings to bring him to the UK to face justice.

Calderon walked into court through a side door in an orange prison-issue t-shirt and trousers with his hands in cuffs and shackles on his ankles.

He sat in a chair with his hands firmly clasped together in his lap as if in prayer.

When his mother and father walked into court he gave them a pained look and welled up as they stared at him.

Judge Peter Bray told Calderon: 'You're charged with an offence in the United Kingdom is punishable by more than a year in custody in the United Kingdom'.

Calderon's court- appointed defence lawyer, Amr Adnan Ahmed said there would be special circumstances which meant he should be freed on bail.

Mr Ahmed said that the criminal charge in the UK 'does not correspond with a similar level in the United states'.

Prosecutor Jay Hileman said that the equivalent would be aggravated assault, adding that it was a 'pretty broad crime' that had been used for vehicular cases before.

Mr Ahmed said that other factors were that Calderon was 'in the military, he's in training in the National Guard'

Calderon was arrested on his base and was at the moment supposed to be undergoing a two-week training course.

Mr Ahmed added that Calderon's father Manuel, himself a former soldier, was 'prepared to testify' and that Calderon had been in contact with law enforcement.

While Mr Ahmed did not identify Calderon's base, Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is the biggest National Guard base near Houston.

Judge Bray appeared sceptical of Mr Ahmed's claims.

Judge Bray said: 'Unless I'm mistaken I have evidence that says he told the people in the United Kingdom he was going to go to court, that he wasn't going to leave the United Kingdom until March and he just up and left and came back to the United States.

'You have to overcome that'.

Judge Bray ordered both sides to file briefs on the issue and set a July 29th date for both the extradition and detention hearing.

The judge said that it was 'not a normal criminal case' and that the US had an 'international obligation' to return suspects quickly to the nation where they face trial, or the risk would be they wouldn't do the same for America.

Judge Bray warned Calderon that if his main 'special circumstance' to stop the extradition was that there wasn't an identical criminal charge then he was unlikely to be successful.

According to Judge Bray there was a 'very long and strong line of case's that meant special circumstances were 'almost never' approved.

Judge Bray told the court: 'I'm not letting him out on bail today. It would be an abuse of discretion to do that'.

Calderon's parents sobbed as he was led out the court. His father told him in Spanish would be in touch the next day.

They did not answer questions as they left court - Mrs Calderon hid behind her husband as they walked to their car.

Calderon is accused of overtaking multiple vehicles before the collision on the A4103 on July 31st last year.

West Mercia police issued an arrest warrant for him after he failed to appear for a court date to answer charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Ms Donowho, from Malvern, Worcestershire, said she was unable to walk for six weeks following the crash that left her with a fractured sternum and two broken ankles.

Calderon was due to appear at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on December 1st last year but instead boarded a commercial flight to Houston.

He was living with his family in a suburb of the Texan city until his arrest earlier this week and faces extradition to the UK after a formal request from the British authorities.

In court filings in Texas, prosecutors said that Calderon admitted to vaping moments before the crash.

He told West Mercia police his driving was 'definitely not safe' and agreed with a police officer's description of his conduct as dangerous, a transcript of the interview states.

Shown a video of the collision Calderon repeatedly said to police: 'S***'.

He also admitted he wasn't used to driving a manual gearbox - or British road signs - and that he just followed other drivers to know when he was supposed to stop.

Witnesses said he was doing 70mph in a 50mph zone and was overtaking multiple vehicles before the collision.

Radd Seiger, a spokesman for Ms Donowho, said: 'We are very pleased to see that the long overdue legal proceedings to extradite Mr Calderon are now well and truly underway in Texas and we hope he will be back in our jurisdiction soon. 

'We also note that Mr Calderon was arrested last weekend on his army base confirming that he is in active service for the US Government. 

'That tallies with what West Mercia Police told Elizabeth that he was in the UK working for the US intelligence agencies and it also means that the US Embassy's public statement last year after Mr Calderon left that he was in the UK only as a private citizen appears to be a fabrication.'