La Plata, MD – Phillip Randolph Adams, 37 of Mechanicsville, wanted to get out of jail in the worst kind of way, but that judge wouldn’t budge.
“There are warmer hearts in this courthouse than mine,” Charles County Circuit Court H. James West told Adams Wednesday, Nov. 30.
Adams was before West on a status conference for second-degree burglary charges stemming from a July 25 incident. No big deal, the judge noted, except for the fact that Mr. Adams has not been real good about coming to court when he is supposed to.
“The fact of the matter is, he has 14 failures to appear and one escape,” Charles County Assistant States Attorney Jeremy Widder said. “He’s a flight risk. It’s a no-bond case.”
The judge allowed Adams to read a long, prepared statement in which he said he wanted to be out of jail so he could support his family.
“If the courtroom was packed and people waiting to get in, I’d give him all the time he wants,” the judge told Charles County Assistant Public Defender Ariel Werner, but the man’s statement didn’t change his mind in the least.
“Mr. Adams is persistent,” the judge said, noting that the defendant had already written several letters to him pleading his case.
“We all have a past from some point,” Admas told the judge. “I’m just asking for a chance.”
Werner said she had just received the last of discovery on the case the morning of the status conference.
The judge set another status date of Dec. 2 so she could go over the material.
Despite the defendant’s fervent appeal for leniency the judge was unrelenting.
“I don’t say this very often, but I think in the spectrum of risk he is about as high as you can get based on past performance,” West told Werner.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com