Expect Dotson to be returned for Texas trial

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- Former Baylor basketball player Carlton Dotson should be returned to Texas to stand trial in the slaying of teammate Patrick Dennehy, a Maryland legal officer recommended Monday.
Assistant Attorney General Stuart Buppert II recommended that Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. issue a warrant authorizing Dotson's return to Waco. Ehrlich is expected to accept the recommendation, but Dotson's attorneys have vowed to fight extradition.
Dotson is being held without bond in Kent County, Md., where he was arrested July 21. The former Hurlock, Md., basketball standout was indicted on murder charges by a McLennan County grand jury after Dennehy's body was found southeast of Waco July 25.
Buppert said he made his recommendation based on a review of written documents in the case after Dotson and his attorney declined to appear at an extradition hearing last week in Annapolis, Md. He said he was not permitted to discuss his justification for the recommendation.
Ehrlich has until Oct. 14 to issue an extradition warrant but the process could be extended if challenged by Dotson's attorneys, Buppert said.
"I don't think the question is whether Governor Ehrlich will sign the rendition order. The question is when he will sign it," Shareese DeLeaver, a spokeswoman for the governor, told the Associated Press.