Murder suspect Louis M. Seignious Jr., who was captured Saturday at the Branford Manor apartment complex in Groton following a week on the run, waived extradition to Rhode Island Monday when he was presented in New London Superior Court as a fugitive from justice.

Seignious, 31, most recently of Norwich, will be turned over to Rhode Island authorities to face charges that he fatally shot his 28-year-old Mashantucket Pequot Tribal cousin, Vincent A. Sebastian III, at 11B Marriott Ave. in Westerly on Jan. 25.

Several of Seignious' family members attended his court appearance in New London and told him they loved him as he was being led back into the lockup following his brief appearance before Judge Hunchu Kwak. The judge set his bond at $1.5 million and continued the Connecticut cases to Feb. 19.

Seignious is expected to be turned over to Westerly police and be arraigned on the murder charge in District Court in Wakefield, R.I.

Court documents indicate Seignious was motivated by jealousy when he allegedly shot and killed his cousin. Years ago, the two men had been partners in crime, convicted together of carrying out a home invasion in 2011.

Seignious has a child with Dionne Johnson, who lives at the Westerly apartment, and had told her that even though they were no longer dating, there would be problems if she began a relationship with Sebastian, according to an affidavit written by Westerly Police Sgt. John Riley.

Sebastian did begin dating Johnson, and on Jan. 25, she said Sebastian told an ex-girlfriend and Seignious about their relationship. She said that just before 4 p.m., she was in the house with her back to the door when she heard the door open and turned her head to see who it was. She said she saw Seignious pushing through the inward-swinging door trying to get in and Sebastian pushing against the door to keep out his cousin.

"Johnson said that suddenly she heard a loud bang which she believed was a gunshot and saw the defendant leave and the victim run inside the home and upstairs, where he ultimately died from his injuries," according to the affidavit.

Back in Connecticut, Seignious faces assault charges related to a police pursuit that occurred on the Mashantucket Pequot reservation about an hour after he allegedly shot Sebastian in the chest.

He also faces charges of criminal mischief and interfering with police stemming from his dramatic capture by Groton City police on Feb. 1. Police there said he fell through the ceiling of an apartment unit while attempting to hide in a heating duct.

Mashantucket police were notified within 15 minutes of the Jan. 25 shooting that Seignious may be on the way to the reservation. They went to an address on John George Drive, where relatives of Seignious resided after being told he may be driving a Mazda. They learned a short time later that Seignious was probably driving an Acura.

Tribal Police Sgt. Robert Catania indicates in the warrant affidavit that he stationed officers at each of the neighborhood's exits after realizing he'd seen the Acura during his initial check of the area. He noticed that even though it was raining and 40 degrees outside, a good number of the neighborhood residents were outside.

"My training and experience in patrolling this community led me to believe that the community was aware of the crime and that they were aware we would be looking for individual responsible as well," Catania wrote in the affidavit.

Officers spotted the Acura "on the move," and a female resident told them to follow Seignious, because he had killed "Vinnie's son," according to the affidavit. Seignious drove across the center of the road as he headed toward Fox Trail at high speed and nearly struck Catania's cruiser head-on, but Catania avoided the collision by driving into the oncoming lane and into the shoulder, according to the affidavit.

Seignious sped around another cruiser, narrowly missing it, and onto Pequot Trail, where he drove toward Shewville Road with officers in pursuit, according to the affidavit. Officers lost sight of him as cars were forced to the side of the road in both directions. A motorist reported an Acura was abandoned by a telephone pole in front of 904 Shewville Road. A manhunt involving police from Ledyard, Stonington, Groton, Westerly, state and tribal police ensued.

Seignious remained at large until the following Saturday, Feb. 1, when a "confidential witness" called Groton City police at 3:32 p.m. to report that Seignious was walking around in the area of a building at the Branford Manor apartment complex. Another person called an off-duty officer to say that Seignious had approached a friend of hers at the apartment complex and asked for a cigarette, according to police reports.

At the complex, police spoke with a female resident of 83 Mather Ave., who said Seignious, whom she knew, had knocked on her door, entered without being invited and asked to use the bathroom. The woman said Seignious told her he wanted to head to the reservation and asked to speak to another person who lived there. The woman said she called the other person to let them know Seignious was there, then took her children and left the apartment.

Police who entered the apartment found a hole at the top of the ceiling of the closet hallway. They began clearing the apartments with connected attics and searching them with a K9, according to a report. At 91 Mather Ave., the dog began biting at a mattress in the bedroom and the officers noticed a crack in the ceiling. Three officers were standing in the bedroom when "all of a sudden, the ceiling where the crack was collapsed and a male came crashing through the ceiling onto the ground on the back side of the mattress," according to the report.

Seignious, who is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 205 pounds, stood up, covered in debris and insulation, according to the report. He obeyed orders to get on the ground and told police he was unarmed and not to shoot him. He was taken to police headquarters.

Seignious later complained of head and back pain due to falling out of the ceiling and was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for treatment.

When searching the pockets of Seignious' cargo pants, city police officer Lance Brown reported he found a note Seignious wrote to his wife, Dominic, on Jan. 30 indicating three men had wanted to kill him. He also wrote that he wanted to find a good lawyer to clear his name and believes he may have been set up by Dionne Johnson, the mother of his child, to be ambushed.

"He also talked about struggling with money and child support," according to the Groton City police report. "Seignious said that 'Vinny' was trying to fight him at Foxwoods and was out for blood."

k.florin@theday.com