Feb 20, 2008 3:50 pm US/Eastern
N.H. Candidate Found Guilty Of Faking Car Crash
DOVER, N.H. (WBZ) ―
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Gary Dodds testifies in his own defense Feb. 13.
WBZ
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Gary Dodds leaving Portsmouth Regional Hospital in April 2006.
CBS
Gary Dodds has been convicted of faking his disappearance after a car crash while he was running for Congress in 2006.
Gary Dodds, of Rye, was found guilty of falsifying evidence, conduct after an accident and causing false public alarm for allegedly faking a car accident and then disappearing for more than a day in April 2006.
Prosecutors said Dodds, 43, staged the car crash to draw attention to his campaign.
Dodds told police he was lost in the woods but police officials believe he soaked his feet to make it look like he'd been hurt.
The crash happened on the Spaulding Turnpike where Dodds was found during a multi-agency search in the woods near the Bellamy River after he had been missing for 27 hours.
Dodds maintained his innocence and took the stand in his own defense last week. The defense had argued that Dodds is a law-abiding citizen who had no reason to intentionally hurt himself and that police botched the search for Dodds and the subsequent investigation.
When Dodds was found, police said his feet were purple, but the rest of his body was not. They said they think Dodds soaked his feet in water for up to 10 hours to make his story more believable.
Dodd claims he doesn't remember the 40 minutes before the crash. He also can't explain his EZ Pass records that show him going through a toll.
Dodds, a Democrat, had hoped to challenge the U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley, R-N.H.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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