Prison Farm Escapee Admits to Burglary

A 42-year-old Reseda man with a 25-year history of burglaries, attempted rapes and jail escapes, pleaded guilty Tuesday to five counts of residential burglary in a plea bargain with prosecutors that could bring him 25 years in prison.

Terrence Lee Liddell, one of seven inmates who escaped in March from the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho in Castaic, where he was awaiting trial on burglary charges, admitted Tuesday that he committed three burglaries before he was jailed at the camp and two during the month he remained a fugitive after the escape.

Liddell earlier pleaded guilty to the escape. He will be sentenced Jan. 29 by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Darlene E. Schempp.

According to prison records, Liddell has a criminal record dating from 1959, when he was sent to the California Youth Authority for burglary. He has spent a total of 25 years in custody on seven separate convictions.

Because of his record, Liddell could be sentenced to 25 years for the burglaries and another 16 months for the escape, according to his attorney, Herbert B. Weiss.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward G. Feldman said that, in exchange for Liddell’s guilty plea, he will ask that several other charges be dismissed, including two counts of assault with intent to commit rape.