Davidson County prison escapee captured in Virginia

Michael F. Easley Governor		Theodis Beck Secretary
North Carolina Department of Correction

For Release: IMMEDIATE	Contact: Keith Acree
Date: Nov. 4, 2004	Phone: (919) 716-3700

Davidson County prison escapee captured in Virginia LEXINGTON – Inmate Eldridge Hodge was captured without incident at the home of his son Wednesday afternoon by sheriff’s deputies in Wythe County, Virginia. Hodge escaped Sunday night from Davidson Correctional Center in Lexington. Hodge, 45, was serving a 99-year sentence for first degree rape. He was convicted in Forsyth County in 1982. Hodge is being held in a regional jail in Dublin, Virginia until he is extradited to North Carolina. The Davidson County sheriff’s department and fugitive officers from the Division of Prisons provided valuable assistance in the investigation and search that led to Hodge’s capture. Inmate Bobby Bates, 24, has been charged with helping Hodge plan his escape from prison and three other women have been charged with aiding him on the outside. Brandy Nicole Blackwell, 21 and Tanzy Lanier Sunshine, 23, both of Denton, and Kay Christine Casad, 23, of Lexington were arrested this week by sheriff’s deputies in Davidson and Randolph counties. # # # Editors: A digital photo of Eldridge Hodge (#0186037) is available by using the “Offender Search” on the NCDOC website at www.doc.state.nc.us