MITCHELL— A 61-year-old Mitchell man is behind bars after allegedly sending a barrage of death threats to his wife over a decades-old rumor, leading to a tense confrontation with police and a medical clearance for extreme alcohol intoxication.
John E. Porter was arrested on June 17, 2026, by the Mitchell Police Department following a domestic threat report. According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Sergeant Garrett Jacobs, Porter faces a preliminary charge of Intimidation, a Class A misdemeanor.
The investigation began at approximately 5:40 p.m. when a woman arrived at the Mitchell Police station to report that Porter was threatening her life.
The victim told Sgt. Jacobs told John Porter, had recently heard a rumor that she had cheated on him 30 years prior with an Orange County man. Porter allegedly bombarded the woman with Facebook Messenger demands to admit to the affair. When she stopped responding, the messages escalated into explicit death threats targeting both her and the other man.
According to court documents, some of the digital messages included:
- “I’m going to kill him then u”
- “One of us ain’t walking away”
- “I’ve got my gun back today so let’s go take care of these”
- “Don’t make me kill him”
The victim told police that Porter tried to force her to drive to the man’s home in Orange County. When she refused, Porter drove there alone, later messaging her, “no body will answer door” and “I was going to kill him no answer door.”
Sgt. Jacobs immediately requested dispatchers to alert Orange County authorities to locate Porter’s vehicle and ensure the Orange County man’s safety. Shortly after leaving the station, the victim called police back to report that Porter had returned to his Mitchell residence.
Sgt. Jacobs responded to the home, where he was met with immediate hostility. Upon knocking on the door, Porter refused to discuss the situation, stating, “there ain’t explicitive going on” and declaring that the matter was “none of [the police’s] business.”
When Sgt. Jacobs ordered Porter to step down from the porch steps, Porter refused, challenged the officer to come up the steps, and assumed an aggressive stance, fanning his feet out and balling his hands into fists. When asked, “Are we really going to do this?”, Porter replied, “Yeah, we’re really gonna do this.”
Sgt. Jacobs successfully de-escalated the situation by asking Porter one more time to share his side of the story. Porter complied, admitting he had traveled to the Orange County home to confront the male, stating he intended to “beat his ass.” Porter eventually relaxed, sat on the steps, and agreed to cooperate after being informed he was going to jail.
While being transported to the Lawrence County Jail, Porter admitted to the officer that he had been drinking. Sgt. Jacobs pulled over at the intersection of Meridian Road and Doc Hamilton Boulevard to administer a preliminary breathalyzer test.
Porter’s initial breath tests registered a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .23% and .229%, nearly three times the legal driving limit of .08%. Upon arriving at the Lawrence County Jail, a subsequent PBT by jail staff read .217%.
Due to the dangerously high level of intoxication, jail staff could not immediately accept Porter. He was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital for emergency medical clearance. Once cleared by hospital personnel, Porter was returned to the Lawrence County Jail and remanded into custody.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This article is based on the information provided in the probable cause affidavit and does not represent a final determination of guilt or innocence.
