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NorthEscambia.com Finds Nokomis Murder Suspects; Both Behind Bars (EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS)
September 25, 2009
Two murder suspects were captured Thursday night after NorthEscambia.com spotted their getaway van returning to the scene of the crime in Nokomis, Ala.
The suspects, Clarence Luker, 37, and Lorraine Gray, 50, are in the Escambia County (Ala.) Detention Center, each charged with open counts of murder.
Kenneth Porter, 32, was shot about 7:10 p.m. after a dispute with his neighbors at a trailer park on Nathan Road, about a mile north of Highway 31 in Nokomis. Porter was transported by ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital. He was later transferred to the USA Medical Center in Mobile by LifeFlight helicopter. He was pronounced dead from his injuries about 9:20 p.m., according to Mike Lambeth, chief deputy of the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department.
The suspects, Luker and Gray, fled the scene in a late 1980’s two-tone Ford Econoline van. Law enforcement agencies from Alabama and Florida were on the lookout for the van.
When NorthEscambia.com arrived at the murder scene about 10:40 pm. to take a picture of the trailers were the incident occurred, all law enforcement personnel had been gone from the scene just a short period of time. After our photos were taken, NorthEscambia.com spotted the alleged getaway vehicle around the corner from the murder location, headed toward the murder scene.
Nathan Road is a horseshoe-shaped road that intersects James Road in two locations. We parked on James Road where it was possible to see both ends of Nathan Road, and then we called Chief Deputy Mike Lambeth on his cell phone to tell him what we had observed. He immediately had several officers make an emergency response to our location.
When the first deputies arrived on Nathan Road about 10 minutes later, they found Gray, the female suspect, in the van parked at the murder scenes. Deputies said she exited the van with her hands up and said “I’m the one you are looking for”.
She was taken into custody just before 11 p.m. and placed in the back of a patrol car. NorthEscambia.com was there as she made a complete confession to Sheriff Grover Smith, telling him that she shot Porter.
“I shot him,” she said. “I’m the one that did it….I took the gun and I shot him.”
Tracking dogs from Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore and the Century Correctional Institution were called to the scene to search for Luker. As the dogs began their search of the area, Luker was taken into custody about midnight near the intersection of Nathan and James Roads. His clothes were splattered with blood. Luker also admitted to deputies that he was the shooter.
Investigators searched the van for the murder weapon, but they were unable to locate it in the vehicle, which they termed as being “extremely nasty”. Hundreds of small roaches were visible crawling around the van, and what was believed to be blood was found on the driver’s seat. The van was towed back to Brewton to be processed by investigators.
The murder was first reported to be the result of an argument over a ladder that was propped against the suspect’s travel trailer. But when Luker, who appeared to be intoxicated, made her confession to the sheriff, she said the ladder was not part of the incident. Gray said she got into an argument with Porter, words were exchanged and she shot him once with a handgun. She denied that Luker had any part in the murder. She told the sheriff that she had tossed the murder weapon “in the river”.
After deputies enter Luker’s camper with guns drawn to make sure it was empty, they found Luker had been living in absolute squalor. The small travel trailer was littered with clothes and dirty dishes. Hundreds of roaches were scattered by light, and the stench was overwhelming. Children’s toys could be seen among the mess. Outside, raw sewage dripped on the ground. Children’s toys were scattered around an open septic tank.
Click here for an exclusive NorthEscambia.com photo gallery. The gallery contains photos you will see only on NorthEscambia.com from the scene, both suspects taken in custody, inside the suspect’s camper, and inside the getaway van.
Pictured top: Murder suspect Lorraine Gray confessed to Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff Grover Smith that she shot Kenneth Porter Thursday night. Pictured top inset: Escambia County (Ala.) Chief Deputy Mike Lambeth as the deputies searched for murder suspect Clarance Luker. Pictured bottom inset: Murder suspect Clarence Luker was taken into custody about midnight Thursday. Pictured below: NorthEscambia.com found the suspect’s getaway van returning to the scene of the crime. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
64 Responses to “NorthEscambia.com Finds Nokomis Murder Suspects; Both Behind Bars (EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS)”
My BAD read. Still in all I had sent a check and we all need to think of the needs of the family now. AGAIN MY BAD I’LL READ A LOT CLOSER FROM NOW ON..
Molino Jim the travel trailer is where the murder suspect lived.
Two adults + three kids (one adult 9 months PG) living in a slide in camper with raw sewerage on the ground plus tons of roaches. Where was the Div. of Family Services? Did this fellow have a job?
and p.s……can u black-out the smile on lukers’ face??????
Need to change the address to northescambia.COP…..Good job( s) man!!!!!
wow way to go william!!! if you weren’t there these criminals wouldn’t of probably been caught right of way…i look at northescambia.com every day and it’s like the coffee i don’t get…lol your great and you work very hard for this community! this idiot is even smiling as he gets in the friken cop car..omg wth kind of person that actually lives in this type of mess then have even childrens toys laying around in this filth…hope the kids we’re placed in a better environment…hope both of them get the death penalty! william,i’m not experienced but i can take pic’s in cases like this…please email me if your interested in training me a little..my email is at the top,(of course)
NorthEscambia.com is the best thing to happen to North Escambia and surrounding areas in a coons age. William don’t listen to the negative stuff and keep doing what you do.!!!!!
Kenny had no insurance in place. The family is asking for $$ donations be delivered or mailed to Petty Funeral Home, 9260 Hwy 31, Atmore, AL 36502, to help with funeral expenses. If receipt is needed the funeral home asks to please enclose your name and address and one will be mailed to you.
Be sure to put Kenneth Porter on the envelope, check, etc…
Kudos William! This is a truly bizarre story/situation. Thanks for the story, and photos (ick).
The comment was unchristian. I was just trying to make the point, not to look to man but to God!! I’m not Obama fan or the any political party! This sad sad crime has nothing to do with the Obama, but it was added to the story with the comments!!!
Even after William explained that he was the last one onsite and that is the reason he was able to help law enforcement make an arrest people still want to make this a Atmore vs northescambia issue. I have been reading stories on here and I don’t understand why people have to make this an issue. Alot of you interact in Atmore and Walnut Hill and don’t know it.
What is sad is that there are murderers in prison that live in better conditions than these people. By the way, I’m not big on Obama either at the moment.
Katie ….Foul!!
I considered your comment directed to ” in warmest Christian love” as being “unchristian” rude and totally out of bounds. It lacks the “love” you so cherish as an asset of true Christian conduct.
Your judgement of someone’s worth as Christian or not Christian is your own.
It is the height of presumption.
The United States protects it’s citizens to openly speak, write, what is on their mind, yes even give utterance to opposition to a standing President. Freedom of speech really needs to be encouraged and protected.
I think William should apply for a Police commission.They have reserve officers here like in the rest of the Nation?
Either that or just forego all the redtape and put him on the payroll.
Great job.
Hat Tip to the Author William.
GREAT JOB, North Escambia and William. We are so lucky to have you in our community. We cannot thank you enough for your dedication to this site. Maybe some of these criminals will get the message and go south out of our area. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
You would have come a cross as a christian– if you had not made the unchristian comment about the President!! As a christian myself I’m very affended by this. Such hate has no place in a christian life. God is a God of love, he hates bad actions, and he is the judge. We should look to God for answers– not man(not a political party, when one party is not anymore a christian than the other, both are involved in sinful acts.) God is the judge!!
How sad that we have become so conditioned to hearing about murder( the taking of a life) that people are more interested in who got where at what time.
I also check this website for up to the minute news and appreciate the hard work, important issues and great reports we don’t hear anywhere else. But my main concern is I don’t read about compassion for people in the comments section. True it’s an opinion, but my heart goes out to all the victims family members and also the family members of the accused in all reports. We are all going thru some tough times, some more than others . I understand the comments are a way of expressing anger, frustration, disgust and many other emotions. Due to economic situations, family crisis, a nation in troubling times and a president who is more interested in his own agenda than our United States of America we have a lot to be concerned about. As a Christian I pray for all involved in all circumstances, the good and the bad. Jesus taught us to love one another, pray for each other and have compassion on all that we may plant a seed of encourgement, hope and love to win souls for Christ.
the guy looks proud of what he did, smiling and everything…..we read this website (atmore people) because we know if it’s newsworthy and it’s “happening”, it’s gonna be posted here FIRST! Thanks!
northEscambia.com is my homepage..That is the first thing I see every time I log in!! I love this NorthEscambia.com…..Your one heck of a man William, for all you do..Keep up your awsome work…
AC — thanks for the vote of confidence, but I have enough trouble keeping up with what I do now. I would like to find someone to help with photos and news coverage in North Escambia. Email me if you know someone that might be interested.
William,
Why don’t you just rename your site “Escambia.com” and cover ALL of Escambia counties in both Florida and Alabama? You could hire extra help if you needed them to help cover the extra areas.
So now the local news is censoring a governmental press release?
That is a little fishy.
We are with you William!!!
Fox10 tv also says “an internet newspaper employee”
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/crime/Two_Admit_To_Shooting_Escambia_Co_Man
THIS IS SICK ALL THE WAY AROUND…I CANNOT BELIEVE PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THIS, WHAT A DISGRACE TO ALL THE NEIGHBORS….DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THEY LIVE ANY BETTER THOUGH. THERE IS NO REASON WHY PEOPLE SHOULD THROW TRASH OR HAVE FURNITURE ALL OVER THEIR YARDS LIKE THIS. WHEN FOLKS LIVE LIKE THIS, THIS TYPE OF THING IS BOUND TO HAPPEN…SAD FOR THE FAMILY OF THE VICTIM THOUGH
Stuart it looks like that press release indentifies William as being the one that called. Channel 3 also reported at 11 this morning that it was William
http://www.weartv.com/newsroom/
When I read the press release on the Atmore paper’s website, it does not mention northescambia.com. I guess they edited that out but ran it as being the press release. What’s up with that?
We have posted the complete and UNEDITED press release from the sheriff’s department about the shooting incident. You can read the entire UNEDITED text here:
http://www.northescambia.com/?p=11143
Quoting the press release:
“After officers finished processing the scene and left, a short while later at approx. 10:40PM, William with Northescambia.com (internet newspaper) drove up to take photos of the scene and spotted the alleged vehicle that had returned to the scene. He then notified the S.O.”
I posted this not to point fingers at any other media outlet that might or might not have posted an *edited* press release; I posted this to assure you the information in our story in accurate and *complete*. Read my long post below.
So here’s what we know.
1) The Atmore Advance was on the scene at the time of the response to the shooting. 2) NE.com was on the scene at the time of the arrest. 3) The press release does not state how they came to arrest the suspects. 4) It took about 12 hours for the Atmore papers to mention the arrest.
There may be a couple of stories here, but the fact that a citizen was aware enough to recognize and report the return of the suspects to the scene and see that they were apprehended is a fabulous job!
I guess the Advance is miffed that they (along with all of the other local media) got Super Duper Scooped by the “little blog that can.” As far as I can see, lots of people where there to report the shooting, but only one was there to report the arrest.
God job William!
Come on people, be for real. Mr. Porter was a dad, a child to someone and friend and family to others and all you can do is talk about who was first, or who had the best pictures, etc. I know that everyone wants to know the latest events, but the pride, selfishness, and greed of being on top is part of this worlds problem. Be for real, where is your thoughts, prayers, and sympathy for this family? And not to mention the efforts of our officers, are you not worried that a newspaper may have made it to a shooting before our officers, let a man lie alone and bleed, afraid that it might tamper with crime scene evidence even though they had numerous eye witnesses and not to mention that not one officer was left at or around the area in case the perps returned in this case they did. God, be with this family.
I appreciate everyone’s kind comments about NorthEscambia.com, and I appreciate the tens of thousands of you that read our site daily.
I want to clear a few things up. We were *not first* on the scene. I never had any intent to be there first, nor did I claim to be first.
Escambia County, Ala. is not in our primary coverage area. I’m not sure if the Atmore Advance or the Atmore News was first; it really does not matter to me. Channel 3 was there and gone before I arrived. I’ll be the first to admit that they were *all* there and gone before I arrived. We don’t run off to every event on the Alabama side like we do Florida.
We did post a story about 8:30 or 9 p.m. that the shooting had happened with a description of the suspect vehicle because it was supposedly seen headed into North Escambia. That’s when it would become a local story for us.
I’m just one guy working seven days a week, so I must concentrate my coverage on North Escambia. We do a lot of Escambia County, Alabama, news where we can because I understand we have a lot of readers up there. We run some of the “bigger” stories, and are always happy to help out a church or community group in Atmore or Flomaton with a story. And a lot of times, we run a story about something in Atmore or Flomaton because a lot of North Escambia residents take part in an event.
It’s our job to serve the 20,000 residents of North Escambia with timely, accurate news. That does not mean that we will always be *first*. We were LAST there in Nokomis (not counting the Mobile TV stations today, of course), and proud to tell you we were last.
Being last allowed us to be the first to report the arrests, and the only ones with the photos that you see here. It was luck that we showed up when we did. Being last was a bit of a blessing, allowing law enforcement to get suspects off the streets very quickly.
To me, that’s not a “we beat them” victory; It’s just the chance to know we did the very best for you, our readers, to provide you with the most complete, accurate and timely information.
Each of the Atmore papers serves some purpose to their readers or they would not be in business. There’s no point in making this a NorthEscambia.com versus the Atmore papers discussion. We don’t consider them competitors — we don’t cover Atmore as part of our primary coverage area, and they don’t cover Walnut Hill, Century, Molino or any of the other dozens of our communities in North Escambia.
Again, I am humbled by the positive comments here. I thank you for being part of the NorthEscambia.com family.
“Chandler”…you must be delusional…I just looked (AGAIN) at the atmore advance website and there is absolutely NO indication that they were there first or there at all. This morning, well after 8AM, the atmore advance were still listing them as fugitives. In fact, I posted on their site (which they never allowed to be posted), that their news was OLD news. Also, there are NO pictures on atmore advance website other than the mug shots.
I read the press release from the sheriff’s department on atmorenews.com:
http://www.atmorenews.com/?p=4036
It does not say a thing in the world about this “William” or northescambia.com doing anything. Sounds to me like it has been blown out of propportional.
Chandler (there is a chandler that works at the Atmore advance are you the same one?) I did not read anything in the story that says northescambia.com was the first? You say they were the only one there after the shooting occurred. But there are pictures on the Atmore News site of the scene. I don’t see any on the Advance site, just mug shots. Maybe I am missing them
Actually, the Atmore Advance was the first on the scene when the shooting occurred, and was the only one on the site after the shooting occurred. A representative from the paper would have been there at the arrest if a call to the sheriffs could have gotten through. Go back and look at the photo of the first story that speaks about the argument and its pretty clear thats an actual photo from the scene.
a key to northescambia.com?
I guess we could give him a key to Cooper’s
i love norhescambia.com it better than the paper or the tv news thanks for all your time william you deserve a key to north escambia county……..Thanks……..
William, don’t know how you do it??? You are the best news man around for many a mile. LOL We do so appreciate you for all your hard work. We learn everything here before it ever hits the news anywhere else. Thanks William
So who is the guilty party. She confessed. What to cover for the man? The driver seat had blood stains and she was found in the passenger seat. So dont that tell you that he was the driver. He got out a ran, but not far enough. I am very pleased with all that helped with this terrible accident. Thumbs up to all. And my prayers go out to the family because the hurt is on the living not the deceased.
Funny neither one of the Atmore papers, now that they have updated their stories 12 HOURS LATER, mentioned how they were *really* caught.
There’s that arrogant “we are the best attitude” from one of the papers. In their minds, I bet they think if they don’t report it, nobody will know Northescambia.com made them look like an elementary school paper.
They are wrong Everywhere I went in Atmore today, the papers were the laughing stock of the town. At the post office, morning coffee, the street downtown, even at winn dixie and piggly wiggly.
william, thanks for notifying police, the witnesses were told that lorraine and clarence had been apprehended. does anyone know the basic guidelines for a shooting victim? i ask this because the atmore p.d. arrived first to the scene and would not allow anyone to try to help kenny until the ambulance arrived. witnesses as well as victims girlfriend were told to stay back because that was a crime scene, while this young man lay on a porch, bleeding and pleading for help. i undestand some things but not this, if you or i was injured would you not want family or friends to give assistance. a little help could have helped kenny to live. u
You ROCK William!
One question…. do you EVER sleep????
I think the crooks, criminals, thieves and liars better give 2nd thoughts (and 3rd) before committing acting out in northescambia.com territory!
Maybe we ought to call the local papers William Wannabe’s
Joe,
Are you saying that William’s new nickname should be the Super Duper Scooper?
Look, up in the air, it’s a bird, its a plane, no it’s William.
William is North Escambias very own Superman! we sure do appreciate all you do to get the stories and the facts on the issues. NE.C is the best source for reliable news and always great pictures of what ever is being reported. I have enjoyed the articles and photos but really enjoy the way you have helped law enforcement get the bad guys off the street!
As of this morning, WEAR 3 still reports that they are fugitives! William, this is top notch reporting as always. By the time I get the local printed paper, all of their stories are old news. You trumped them all once again. Good job!
GREAT JOB!!! Why is that guy smiling? I bet she is covering up for him.
Thank you “me”. Can I Say ‘Ditto’
Northescambia.com IS truly amazing!! This is also the first thing I do in the morning and all during the day! You have truly trumped the local news. Great job William. Keep up the good work. I LOVE it when I hear on the local radio stations “Northescambia.com is reporting…” AWESOME to have you in our neck of the woods!
It might have been luck that he found them last night, but it took guts to stick around. Any for anybody that wants to defend the Atmore papers again, where were they durng the hour between her arrest (11 pm) and his arrest (midnight).
Seems like if you knew one murder suspect had been arrested and dogs from two prisons were searching for the other one. You might go back to take a picture. They had no clue.
Seems like by 8:30 in the morning they could call someone and update their wrong stories.
I think the sheriff’s department should give northescambia a medal or something.
Let’s see if mr.luker has that smirkey grin on his face when he is introduced to life in a prison. he probably won’t be grinning then. Capital letters left off intentionally. he doesn’t deserve them.
I think William has earned his new nickname….Detective Scoop
Now I know why two Atmore Cops nearly ran me off Hwy 31 last night.
I hate you northescambia. I used to get up, kiss my wife, pet my dog, speak to my kids, take a pee, make a pot of coffee and then read the news. Now kiss the wife (I do like her!), kick the dog and run the computer and read northescambia. I don’t even pee first. All day long, over and over, I keep coming back to see if there’s something new. I want northescambia anonymous. I need help
Humdinger is right. Sheriff David Morgan — you should hire William. When you catch two murders and two armed robbers in a week or so, you are doing better than some of the seasoned detectives. Some of it was luck, but it seems to me that the boy knows what he is doing.
That’s a humdinger of a story!
Hah, hah. Somebody at the three printed newspapers is going to stroke out when they read this. The websites of the Atmore wrappers still have their stories wrong and the suspects on the run.
Before retiring, I worked in the news business for 35 years. I’ve never, ever seen someone get kicked as bad as the Atmore and Flomaton papers did last night. Heck, I won’t even pick on just them. I’ll pick on 3-5-10-15 and the Mobile paper.
Sure, it was lucky you showed up when you did, but to stick around, call it in, watch the neighborhood for an escape and then get pictures of it all….you kicked butt in a royal way.
Scoop!
Great Job William, the citizens in Atmore, really appreciate you, our so beloved Mayor Howard Shell has placed a muzzle over the mouth of our newspapers and it is you whom we depend on for the real news THAAAAANKS.
Thank you Northescambia for doing a great job reporting this.
RIP Kenny we love you and will miss you so much!
sounds to me like sheriffs office in alabama and florida need to throw some money your way northescambia.com you are making their jobs easy.
Watching TV3 @ 6:00 AM – They don’t even know William caught ‘em yet!
Channel 3 is still stating that the authorities are continuing to search for the suspects and the name of the victim is unknown. Other media outlets might need to start checking with this site as to know what to air.
Great Job, William. The guy who never sleeps. Keep up the good work. You can’t know how much we appreciate you.
What trailer park was this and why have the health department not inspected it? Why can buisness owners get away with this. Again children have to be the ones that are in danger. Playing in raw sewage can cause many illinesses. This part owner should have made her clean this up. I have atrailer and it is very easy tp keep cleaned out the tank and sewer lines cleanded out a little water and cleaner or clorox. If you do not the smell willl back up in the trailer it goes in the tank then out if it is connected to the sewer, If not it stayes in the tank until cleaned out, Were there children at this home?:
Wow. William, they need to give you a gun, a badge, a police car and a fire truck. Your coverage is incredible. We are blessed to have northescambia.com
Northescambia.com is amazing! You get two murder suspects arrested last night and two armed robbers last week. Pictureds from it all. You had the only real photos from the atmore hazmat spills. It is easy to see what everyone loves northescambia