I am willing to bet a lot of money I don't have on the fact that he was probably involved in something seriously heinous in Thailand and felt that he was about to be found out and needed an extradition back to America. He got that, and aside from possibly being charged with obstruction of justice, now all he has to face are some "minor" (no pun intended) charges in California.

I know I'd much rather spend time in a US jail than a Thai jail any day.