Inmate can't plead guilty in county court
By MARLO BARNHART / Staff Writer
An inmate who was on escape status from the Maryland Correctional Training Center for three months in 1999 made an appearance in Washington County District Court Thursday.
Raymond Eric Dodd, 25, of Landover, Md., was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on his escape charges but instead expressed a desire to plead guilty.
"I want to get this over with," Dodd told visiting Judge Darrow Glaser.
But Assistant Washington County State's Attorney Mark Thomas told Dodd that District Court doesn't have jurisdiction over felonies.
Dodd was returned to custody.
Convicted of armed robbery and manslaughter, Dodd escaped July 12, 1999, during his shift as a prison janitor at MCTC. He was recaptured in October 1999 in Washington, D.C.
The janitorial job regularly included outdoor tasks such as window washing and litter pickup that allowed Dodd to roam the area around the prison's Housing Unit No. 4 without constant monitoring, officials said.
