State Prison

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Police chased and caught convicted murderer Kandelario Garcia-Ramos on Thursday, five days after he escaped from a state prison south of Hagerstown, authorities said. Maryland State Police said a clerk at Sheetz at U.S. 40 and Md. 66, east of Hagerstown, called 911 to report a suspicious man loitering in the store. When police arrived, the man -- who was outside talking on a cell phone and drinking coffee -- ran southwest into a field, at one point pulling out an 8-inch knife as officers chased him, Sgt. T.J. McKenrick said.

ANNAPOLIS -- Officials are considering longer work days for Maryland correctional officers, a decision some say would put the workers at risk. Unions representing those officers and some members of Washington County's delegation in Annapolis say the 12-hour shifts would make prisons, including the three south of Hagerstown, less safe. Correctional employees currently work eight-hour shifts. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed budget, which was released Wednesday, includes a move to 12-hour shifts for all corrections employees, including correctional officers and support staff.

HAGERSTOWN -- A convicted murderer who on Saturday escaped from a state prison south of Hagerstown and has not been found is featured on the Web site for the television show "America's Most Wanted. " The escapee, Kandelario Garcia-Ramos, 23, will be mentioned on the show Saturday evening, Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said Wednesday. Garcia-Ramos, who was serving a 40-year sentence for first-degree murder in the December 2007 stabbing death of his former boss in Prince George's County, Md., apparently scaled two fences at the Maryland Correctional Institution between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. Saturday while his unit was moving to or from the dining hall for breakfast, a prisons spokesman has said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Chambersburg man who pleaded guilty to two armed robberies was sentenced Wednesday in Franklin County Court to seven to 16 years in state prison. Samuel Thomas Smith, 20, of 284 Philadelphia Ave., pleaded guilty to the convenience store holdups on Jan. 5, according to court records. Judge Douglas W. Herman ordered Smith to pay $797 in restitution and gave him credit for 14 months he has served. On June 4, 2007, a man entered the Route 11 Pit Stop, 2324 Philadelphia Ave., and pulled out a handgun, Pennsylvania State Police said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - After a fifth judge is elected to the 39th District of the Court of Common Pleas next year, that jurist is going to need a place to hang his or her robe, as well as a courtroom and staff, some implications of an expanding court system discussed Thursday by the Criminal Justice Advisory Board. A judge will need chambers, office space for a secretary and clerk and other personnel might be needed - a court stenographer and sheriff's deputies. Space requirements have prompted the county to begin facilities planning with architects, County Administrator John Hart said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Chambersburg man charged with sexually assaulting two women on the same night last year entered a no-contest plea to a burglary charge Thursday and was sentenced to state prison. Sean Nolan Connor, 36, of 67 North Ave., was to be tried next week on charges of rape of an unconscious victim, burglary, indecent assault and sexual assault in one case; and forcible rape, sexual assault involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault in another. Connor entered the plea to the first-degree felony burglary charge before Judge John R. Walker and was sentenced to two to four years in prison, Assistant District Attorney Lauren Sulcove said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Chambersburg man was sentenced Monday in Franklin County Court to serve time in state prison after his second trial conviction on drug charges. Thailand V. Dickerson, 43, of 116 S. Second St., was convicted last week in a trial before Judge Carol Van Horn on a charge of possession with intent to deliver cocaine. Van Horn sentenced Dickerson to 33 months to 10 years. On Aug. 30, 2007, the Chambersburg Police Department used a confidential informant to purchase $100 worth of crack cocaine from Dickerson, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- A Chambersburg man is going to state prison for at least five years for leaving his elderly mother alone lying in her own waste for several days last year. David B. Baine, 52, of 666 Broad St., was sentenced Wednesday in Franklin County Court by Judge Carol Van Horn on charges of neglect of care, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. He was found guilty of the charges during a July jury trial. Police were called to Baine's home July 8, 2007, after the landlords reported no signs of activity at the house for several days.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Chambersburg police on Thursday were still investigating the death of a borough man found shot in the face Wednesday morning on Hemlock Circle. Timothy Aaron Short, 42, died of a single gunshot wound to the face and neck, Franklin County Coroner Jeffrey R. Conner said Wednesday night. Though his body was discovered shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday, police believe he was killed about 2 a.m. Several residents on the street said they heard what sounded like a gunshot at that time.

HAGERSTOWN -- Inmates housed in three prisons south of Hagerstown can now look forward to television via satellite, which prison officials hope to have installed by the end of November, Jon Galley, assistant commissioner of the Division of Correction's Western Region, said Wednesday. No taxpayer funds will be used to pay for the satellite television, Galley said. The satellite service will be available to all inmates who have personal televisions in their cells. It will be paid for with money raised through commissary sales and telephone use in the prisons, Galley said.