A slithery getaway

Man escapes from police, found in RV full of snakes

Published Thursday, April 24, 2008

By Staff

A man suspected in a burglary in Newark managed to escape from police custody early Saturday morning only to be found a short time later in a recreational vehicle filled with large snakes.

Newark Police Chief Gerald Wright said officer Richard Hale was on patrol when he noticed an odd sound coming from an upholstery business in town around 12:30 a.m. Hale found a man outside the business who claimed to work there. The business owner was called and said the man was not as employee.

Wright said Hale found pry marks on the door, indicating where the man had tried to gain entry. Darren Douglas Porter, 36, was put in the back of the police car on suspicion of burglary of a building.

Hale left the car to talk to a wrecker driver who had come to pick up Porter's vehicle. Hale returned to his car and found that Porter was gone, Wright said.

Hale knew that Porter lived in town, and when he went to Porter's home, he saw that the recreation vehicle always parked outside the home was gone. Other departments, including the Wise County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Public Safety, were notified and assisted with the search.

Wright said Porter's girlfriend was then found walking around in the area, and officers soon located the RV, which belonged to the girlfriend. While examining the outside of the vehicle, officers noticed Porter was hiding in a storage compartment. Porter was taken back into custody and arrested for both burglary of a building and escape from custody.

When officers started to enter the RV to check for stolen property, they found quite the surprise.

"The girlfriend said, 'My snakes are in there'," Wright said. "The biggest one was about a 14-foot-long python."

Wright said one of their friends came to remove the snakes.

The girlfriend, whose identity was unavailable, was arrested for helping Porter escape.

Porter remained in the Wise County Jail Tuesday with bail set at $15,000 on the burglary charge and $3,500 on the escape charge.