DOVER – The case against former congressional candidate Gary Dodds reached a new level yesterday after he was indicted on a felony charge of falsifying physical evidence for allegedly trying to conceal what happened following his crash on the Spaulding Turnpike last year.

The felony charge carries a maximum 7-year sentence and $4,000 fine, a punishment far greater than the two misdemeanors -- conduct after an accident and false public alarms -- he was charged with earlier this month just before the accident's one-year anniversary.

The indictment singles out Dodds' feet in particular, alleging he changed their appearance to match his claims that he was disoriented after his car crashed, then crossed the Bellamy River and ended up in a pile of leaves, where he was found about a day later.

Deputy County Attorney Thomas Velardi would not elaborate yesterday on how Dodds altered his feet, but said he has nerve damage and that Dodds will suffer the "impairment of his mobility for years to come."

The three charges will be prosecuted simultaneously, Velardi said. He said Dodds had "multiple motives" for his conduct following the accident, but would not elaborate, saving further information for trial and future court filings.

"The case is largely based on the opinions of experts who will testify at trial," Velardi said. "In other words, it's based on unbiased scientific evidence."

►A year later, Dodds charged
►Dodds charged in Spaulding Turnpike incident
►Police doubt Dodds story
►Former top aide says Dodds' campaign was distracted by inappropriate relationship with worker
►Police probe of Gary Dodds is unsealed
►Search warrant in Dodds case sealed
►Dodds: Survival a result of 'healthy living'
►Congressional candidate missing after car accident
►Dodds says he’s ‘scaling back’ after crash
►Hearing set on unsealing Dodds' warrant
►Dodds continues his recovery from accident
►Dodds remains hospitalized as accident probe continues
►Dodds won't walk away from House run

After the crash, Dodds was a patient at Portsmouth Regional Hospital for just over a week.

Dodds, 42, did not return calls for comment yesterday, but his attorney J.P. Nadeau, of Portsmouth, questioned the new charges and reaffirmed his client's innocence.

"I don't think it's materially different at all," he said. "I think we're going to be successful and there'll be an acquittal of Mr. Dodds. I don't think the state will be able to prove the elements beyond a reasonable doubt."

Nadeau also said the Dodds family, including his wife and two daughters, has been hurt by the prosecutions.

"I think it's very difficult for them and their daughters," he said. "It's not a pleasant thing at all. And it's particularly hurtful because he was involved in what could've been a fatal accident and has suffered long-term nerve damage so it's difficult, there's no question about it."

Dodds, 42, of Rye, crashed his Lincoln Continental while traveling south on the Spaulding Turnpike last April 5 and disappeared almost immediately afterward, sparking a massive search of the area that included about a dozen agencies, federal and local. He was found the next day.

If convicted, a judge could order Dodds to repay the cost of the search, which Velardi said could be as high as $10,000.

Exactly what happened after the crash remains a mystery. While Dodds has stuck by his story that he spent the entire time hidden in leaves, prosecutors and law enforcement say he is lying.

A search warrant executed shortly after the crash took Dodds' shoes and socks for testing to see if they had ever been in the Bellamy River; the results showed they had.

Police had expressed skepticism over apparent inconsistencies in Dodds' story and physical evidence, noting in the search warrant's affidavit that when he was found, Dodds' feet were soaking wet and water needed to be poured from his shoes, but his clothes were dry, leading officers to question whether he had swam the river as he claimed.

"I asked Dodds if he could taste the salt in the water he swam across," reads the affidavit written by state police Sgt. Richard Mitchell. "Dodds responded to us with a question, 'That's not saltwater there, is it?' I explained the brackish water and tidal changes to Dodds, who responded that he could not taste the salt in the water."

Dodds' arraignment on the felony charge is scheduled for May 7 in Strafford County Superior Court.