MARYLAND BRIEFING

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Shoplifting Suspect Gets Away By Jumping Out of Police Car

A handcuffed man who had been detained on suspicion of shoplifting jumped out of a police car yesterday afternoon and remained at large last night, Prince George's County police said.

Security officers at a Wal-Mart struggled with the man at the store in the 8700 block of Branch Avenue in Clinton before police arrived to make an arrest. As county officers drove him to jail about 5:15 p.m., the man jumped from the back seat of the police car near the exit ramp from Interstate 495 to Route 4, said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a police spokesman.

Police said the suspect may have suffered facial injuries.

-- Clarence Williams

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Health Care Clinic Coming Soon To Long Branch, Partners Say

A new primary care center will open in the Long Branch area in November, a long-anticipated collaboration between Washington Adventist Hospital in nearby Takoma Park and the District's Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care.

The partners announced this week that the 3,600-square-foot clinic initially will be in a storefront space -- a former restaurant -- at Piney Branch Road and Flower Avenue. It will provide pediatric and adult health services, including obstetrical care, regardless of patients' ability to pay, a statement said.

The two organizations still hope to build a larger center a block away, but their plans have been delayed because of litigation by a neighborhood group.

-- Susan Levine