Contact:
Diane Wiffin, 508-422-3317
March 23, 2005
DOC and State Police Apprehend Fugitive Porter
On March 22, 2005 at 11:30 a.m. , the Massachusetts Department of Correction Office of Investigative Services Fugitive Apprehension Unit and the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section collaboratively arrested an escaped murderer in Chicago , Illinois . The Massachusetts State Police, the Massachusetts Department of Correction and the Illinois State Police working on several leads arrested fugitive Norman A. Porter, Jr., age 65 at the Third Unitarian Church in Chicago without incident. In December 1985 Porter escaped from what was then a pre-release DOC Correctional Facility in Norfolk , Massachusetts . (It is now Pondville Correctional Center .) At the time of his escape, he was serving two life sentences for murder. In 1960, Porter shot a clerk to death and while awaiting trial escaped the Middlesex County Jail shooting to death the Superintendent of the jail.
"I applaud the mutual determination of the State Police and the Department of Correction in apprehending this violent offender and placing him back in our custody", said Commissioner Kathleen M. Dennehy. Department of Correction Captain Edward McGonagle, Lt. Joseph Pepe, Lt. Paul Devlin and Massachusetts State Police Detective Lt. Kevin Horton and Sgt. Timothy Luce all participated in the arrest of Porter. Porter is currently being held at the Cook County Jail pending arraignment at the Cook County Circuit Court on March 23.
"The State Police are committed to working in partnership with other public safety agencies to ensure the safety of all citizens", said Colonel Thomas G. Robbins.