Escaped Work Release Inmate And Girlfriend Arrested In North Carolina

October 14, 2014

Escaped inmate Jonathan P. Porter, 35, and his accomplice, Stacey Ann Wood, 38, were apprehended today in North Carolina, 13 days after Porter escaped from the Florida Department of Corrections Pensacola Work Release Center.

Immediately after his escape in the early morning hours of October 1, Porter was picked up in a vehicle driven by Wood, his girlfriend.

The vehicle was later located abandoned several days later in a McDonald’s parking lot in Gordonsville, TN. The U.S. Marshals North Florida Regional Task Force, which includes several members from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, was able to locate the  two suspects.

Members of the U.S. Marshal’s task force traveled to North Carolina and, with assistance from the U.S. Marshal Task Force out of Asheville, NC, and the Jackson County (NC) Sheriff’s Office, both suspects were taken into custody at a hotel in a remote area in the Smokey Mountains.

They are currently in the Jackson County (NC) Jail awaiting extradition to Escambia County where they will face charges of escape and accessory.

According to Department of Corrections records, Porter was serving a 15-year sentence for a 2001 conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery with a gun or deadly weapon.

Comments

14 Responses to “Escaped Work Release Inmate And Girlfriend Arrested In North Carolina”

  1. Bobby Wood on October 17th, 2014 10:20 am

    Jack wrote: “Just curious. Why are the police in cammies?”

    Go to North Carolina and ask them? An escaped fugitive in the mountains of North Carolina and do you expect a suit and tie with a knock on the door? You watch to much T.V. Jack. Our police would be in full “tactical gear” on a situation like this. It’s funny tht you would make a comment like that, just about as funny when someone says, “armed officers arrest subject X”. We live in America, do you ever see officers NOT ARMED arresting someone? This isn’t England Jack.

  2. Bob's Brother on October 16th, 2014 5:31 pm

    I feel sorry for the dude. He had such a short time left to serve. I agree with Mary Lynn Mc…. Maybe tack on a year or two, and fine the fellow the cost of the manhunt. Justice need not be cruel.

  3. luvmyboys on October 16th, 2014 10:39 am

    @Jack…The story says they were apprehended at a hotel in a remote area in the Smokey Mountains. Maybe they were hiding out in the woods as they prepared to move in. Just a thought. :)

  4. Seriously on October 15th, 2014 7:50 pm

    She has 6 kids and a husband? Was she mentally abused or voluntarily went? Maybe he threatened her.

  5. jack on October 15th, 2014 10:30 am

    Just curious. Why are the police in cammies?

  6. mick on October 15th, 2014 10:29 am

    Once again the bleeding hearts come out with their rationalizations why these criminals should get leniency. From the moment he made the decision to bolt all of you bleeding hearts were on his mind as he fled and eluded. Yea keep thinking that…while you’re asking why they are raping your daughters or robbing you blind…

  7. Poor Kids on October 15th, 2014 9:59 am

    I feel for her six kids that have to go to school today after many parents see this! How could she do this to them. Her husband is going for full custody, good for him!

  8. XD9RACER on October 15th, 2014 9:38 am

    He just couldn’t hold on for just a few more months to be free and be with his lady friend so they both went stupid. I guess somewhere during his imprisonment he applied for work release and convinced the right peoples he was a good candidate to do the right thing and got it but could not live up to it. Now he will get about 15 years added on and never again be a candidate for work release and she will most likely have to do some time as well and still not be together. Was this short time on the run together worth it and was there enough passion between them to justify the time they will be apart after the fact. It’s astonishing what measures people will go through just to be together. If you are not prepared to do the time then do not do the crime.

  9. El on October 15th, 2014 9:12 am

    Glad he was caught but I disagree with Mick. Some ppl do the right thing once they a locked up n that’s why they get work release its a chance for them to get back in transition to the free world. Some abuse it 80% don’t. These ppl have families. You don’t know what happen to get them locked away. So think before you judge you might have a family member or child one day get locked up and you’ll sing a different tune.

  10. Mary Lynn McDavid on October 15th, 2014 8:38 am

    While everyone is blasting this guy for running, you might want to ask yourself why? I work as an advocate for inmates and hear these stories all the time. Guys with little time left will “bug out.” The FDOC needs to figure out why inmates are doing this. This is a psych situation and they are obviously not getting the support they need.

  11. Dothemath on October 14th, 2014 8:36 pm

    15 year sentence imposed in 2001? Must have been in a transition program for release. Unbelievable.

  12. Richard Head on October 14th, 2014 4:09 pm

    Glad they got them. God bless.
    Love Chef

  13. mick on October 14th, 2014 4:00 pm

    When returned to prison, how about show a little smarts and keep him in the cage where he belongs , not on a work release program. All of this could have been avoided. You go to jail or prison you stay in jail or prison for the length of the sentence levied. Criminals forfeit their rights when they choose to commit crimes. THATS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE! Jail or prison should be a deterrent not a roof over their heads and 3 hots and a cot. Add 15 more years to his sentence

  14. tamijane on October 14th, 2014 4:00 pm

    Hallelujah! I am so glad to see him back in bracelets!!!!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News