Jimmy Arnold Mendenhall, 72, of Lexington Park
Jimmy Arnold Mendenhall, 72, of Lexington Park, is charged with second-degree escape after court documents say he left St. Mary’s Hospital while in custody and failed to return with detention center staff to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
According to charging documents filed by Deputy Preston Dixon of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, Mendenhall was charged under Maryland criminal law with escape in the second degree. The court charge summary lists the possible penalty as up to three years and/or a $5,000 fine.
Court documents state that on June 1, 2026, Deputy Dixon responded to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center on Baldridge Street in Leonardtown for a reported escape.
The documents say Dixon contacted Correctional Officer Lt. Dunkin, who advised that Mendenhall was actively incarcerated at the detention center and had left St. Mary’s Hospital after receiving treatment instead of returning to custody with detention center staff.
According to the statement of probable cause, Lt. Dunkin advised that Mendenhall was awaiting transportation to a nursing home or hospital setting and was expected to remain on an ankle monitor for the duration of his sentence. The document also states that because of numerous health conditions, Mendenhall was court-authorized to receive medical treatment as needed but was required to wait for detention center staff to take him back into custody after discharge.
The court filing says medical staff contacted the detention center at approximately 6:24 p.m. on June 1, 2026, to report that Mendenhall was ready to be released back into detention center custody. When correctional officers arrived, they were unable to locate him at the hospital, according to the statement.
Investigators obtained GPS data from Mendenhall’s electronic ankle monitor, according to the filing. The document states that the data showed he left the hospital at approximately 6:05 p.m., about 20 minutes before medical staff contacted the detention center. The GPS data placed him on Great Mills Road in Lexington Park.
Mendenhall was later located near the CVS on Great Mills Road in Lexington Park, where court documents say he was found drinking alcohol and smoking a cigarette. He was taken into custody and transported back to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
Before any interview or attempt to read him his Miranda rights, the documents state that Mendenhall said “he wanted his lawyer and would not speak to me.” He was charged with second-degree escape.
Additional Circuit Court records show Mendenhall has two open criminal indictment cases in St. Mary’s County, both filed on June 2, 2025. In case one case, Mendenhall is charged with child abuse molestation/exploitation and third-degree sex offense. The listed offense dates in that case range from January 1, 1999, to September 30, 2002. Court records show an arrest warrant was issued on June 2, 2025, and served on June 3, 2025.
In a second case, Mendenhall is charged with three counts of third-degree sex offense, one count of child abuse molestation/exploitation, and one count of sex abuse of a minor as a continuing course of conduct. The listed offense dates in that case range from January 1, 1996, to December 31, 2006. Court records also show an arrest warrant in that case was issued on June 2, 2025, and served on June 3, 2025.
