Man Gets 85 Years In Slayings Of Mom, Daughter
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) -- A man accused of killing five women in Prince George's County and who was convicted on federal charges in a series of home invasions entered an Alford plea on Wednesday in the slayings of a nurse and her daughter.
Jason Scott, 30, was immediately sentenced to 85 years in prison in the strangulations of 42-year-old Delores Dewitt and her 20-year-old daughter, Ebony, in 2009.
With an Alford plea, a defendant doesn't admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped charges in three other crimes: the January 2009 shooting deaths of Karen Lofton, 45, and her daughter, 16-year-old Karissa; and the June 2008 killing of Vilma Butler, 46, who was fatally shot before her Bowie home was set on fire.
State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks says she wanted to spare the victims' families the ordeal of several trials.
"We have removed, we believe, a ruthless killer from the streets," Alsobrooks said.
Scott was sentenced in January 2012 to 100 years in prison for dozens of armed home invasions and burglaries in Maryland.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
