Georgia man jailed in Washington fights extradition

ALPHARETTA - A Georgia man accused of taking nearly $75,000 from the Alpharetta movie theater he managed is fighting extradition on theft charges, authorities said Thursday. <br> <br> Michael Joseph Houser, 23, of Roswell, was missing for more than a week before U.S. Customs agents stopped him Monday at the Canadian border, about 100 miles north of Seattle. <br> <br> Authorities also found $51,000, a new motorcycle and a handgun in his newly purchased pickup truck. <br> <br> Alpharetta police spokesman Chris Lagerbloom said Thursday that a Whatcom County, Wash. judge has ordered a public defender be appointed to represent Houser. <br> <br> ``We will have to go through the process of asking for a governor&#39;s warrant to extradite him, which can take as long as 30 days,&#39;&#39; Lagerbloom said. <br> <br> The Fulton County District Attorney&#39;s Office plans to present the case to a grand jury Friday. <br> <br> Houser, who was last seen May 5 at the United Artists Theater in Alpharetta, is accused of taking proceeds from the movie ``Spider-Man.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Four days after his disappearance, his car surfaced in a parking lot in Brentwood, Tenn. He bought a truck in Tennessee before heading toward Canada, then bought a motorcycle in Indiana. <br> <br> ``None of us can believe this,&#39;&#39; said Sarah Williams, Houser&#39;s girlfriend. ``This had to have been an incredibly spur of the moment thing, or an incredibly stupid thing.&#39;&#39;

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