Escapee swapped IDs with cellmate

— A man serving three life terms conned his way out of a Baltimore prison with help from his cellmate.

Raymond T. Taylor, 26, of New York, successfully posed as a cellmate who happened to closely resemble him, corrections officials said Friday. He escaped Thursday afternoon and was recaptured Friday morning in West Virginia.

Taylor was convicted in 2005 of shooting his ex-girlfriend and her two teenage daughters. All three victims survived gunshot wounds in the head.

Taylor and cellmate William Johnson swapped photo identification cards Thursday afternoon, and when Johnson’s name was called, Tayloranswered, officials said. Four correctional officers checked the photo and inmate identification number - which Taylor recited when asked - and allowed him to walk out of the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center.

“There was a striking resemblance between the two,” Assistant Commissioner of Correction Felicia Hinton said Friday.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 02/27/2010

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