BEDFORD – Lawrence Superior Court I Judge John M. Plummer III sentenced a Mitchell man to prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, criminal confinement, and battery by means of a deadly weapon in a negotiated plea deal.
Judge Plummer sentenced 42-year-old Joe Porter to 15 years in the Indiana Department of Correction. He will serve 12 years in prison and three years were suspended to supervised probation.
“Porter committed these crimes over two years, affecting multiple residents of Lawrence County”.
Chief Deputy Joshua K. Scherschel said. “This defendant caused harm to numerous residents of
Lawrence County, some of them his own neighbors. This plea will keep Mr Porter from being
able to harm the people in Lawrence County for a significant period of time. It also allows for
restitution to the victims of his actions.”
Porter was first arrested on Saturday, February 27, 2021, after a Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department deputy was requested to the 3350 block of Lawrenceport Road after a report of a burglary.
The caller reported someone had broken into his cabin and stolen numerous items including a weedeater, leaf blower, electric hand tools, a mini fridge, food, bedding, blankets, and towels.
Police found footprints from the back of the cabin going towards the cabin next door. At that cabin, police found a black plastic tote outside the cabin that contained the caller’s blankets and towels. Police also found the caller’s rake and shovel propped outside of the cabin.
Unsuccessfully, police attempted to get Porter to answer the door. While waiting on the requested search warrant, another neighbor reported missing items. The neighbor believed then 39-year-old Joe Porter had stolen his personal property items. He stated he had seen some of his own clothing articles hanging outside Porter’s cabin.
Officers forcibly gained entry once the search warrant was obtained.
Once entry was made, police discovered the door had been bolted to the door and then nailed to the floor. Officers also discovered a rug covering an open hole in the floor to a stairwell that went to a lower level of the cabin.
Police ordered Porter to come out of his hiding spot. When doing so, Porter resisted, causing an officer to lose his balance and fall to the bottom of the stairwell. Porter escaped and ran down Lawrenceport Road. Ensuing in a foot pursuit, an officer was able to catch up with Porter but was unable to detain him. Porter eventually rolled down a steep embankment, entered the river, and disappeared under a river cabin.
Porter finally emerged at the water’s edge and threatened to jump in again, if officers were going to take him to jail.
The Bedford Police Department arrived with a K-9 unit and an Indiana Conservation officer arrived with a boat. After about an hour, a conservation officer was able to convince Porter to surrender. Porter walked up the embankment and was arrested.
An ambulance was called to the scene where Porter was treated for injuries he suffered from fleeing the police. He was then transported to IU Health Hospital by a police officer for further treatment.
The stolen property from both victims was recovered in Porter’s cabin and returned to the owners.
Police say hundreds of stolen items were recovered from the two burglaries. Stolen property was also recovered from a third victim.
Police also found a small amount of marijuana and meth in the cabin.
Porter suffered an arm laceration that required stitches and a broken elbow.
Porter arrested again
Porter was arrested on June 7, 2021, after Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department deputies and Mitchell Police officers responded to a home in the 160 block of Dale Street at 6:30 a.m.
While attempting to take Porter into custody, he started resisting and grabbed a box cutter-style knife. Officers deployed tasers which were ineffective on Porter. He then retreated into a bedroom and barricaded himself inside. There were two other people sleeping in the room.
Two barbs struck Porter but he grabbed them and ripped them out of his chest. He then ran to the bedroom and slammed the door.
After a period of time, Porter let the other occupants leave, a female and an elderly male, but he continued to stay in the bedroom.
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department ERT Team Indiana State Police troopers and other Sheriff’s Department deputies arrived on the scene.
“Officers continued to communicate with Porter who eventually threw the box cutter out of the bedroom window and then surrendered to police, he was then taken into custody without incident,” Chief Deputy Taylor added.
After being medically cleared at the scene by an IU Health Hospital ambulance crew Porter was transported to the Lawrence County Jail.
Porter was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear and new charges of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, two counts of criminal confinement with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, and intimidation.
Porter was arrested third time after failing to appear on charges
On January 31, 2023, at approximately 10 p.m. Mitchell Police and Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department deputies executed a warrant service on 41-year-old Joe Porter.
Porter was wanted on five outstanding failure to appear warrants on criminal charges of two counts of criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, resisting law enforcement while drawing a deadly weapon, three counts of burglary, four counts of theft with a prior conviction, possession of meth, residential entry and theft of a firearm.
The officers said they utilized a variety of investigative techniques to discover Porter’s locations before learning that he was in the area of East Frank Street
Mitchell police said they organized a plan of action to arrest Porter in an open area to minimize the risk of serious bodily harm to himself, to officers, and any potential citizens in the immediate area, including getting in different positions to maintain a visual on him.
Officers spotted and confronted Porter, leading to him attempting to flee, police said.
After a short foot pursuit, an officer was able to catch Porter and forcibly take him to the ground.
During a struggle to gain control of Porter’s arms, an officer spotted a utility knife in Porter’s hand. A struggle for the knife ensued, in which Officer Christian Anderson said he received a small cut to his nose from the knife.
Police said Porter was tased but it had no effect on him. Eventually, police were able to remove the knife from Porter’s hand.
After a few minutes of struggling to gain control over Porter, Mitchell officers said they were able to handcuff him.
Porter was then transported to IU Health Bedford to receive treatment for injuries he sustained in the struggle.
During a search of Porter’s person, officers said they located three separate plastic baggies containing a crystal meth. Officers also located a second knife in Porter’s pocket along with a razor blade.
