A man charged with crashing two law enforcement vehicles during a police chase that concluded with gunfire from 11 officers should be held without bail until his trial, prosecutors said Monday.
Gary Porter of Maine had been arrested on a warrant for theft on May 6 when he escaped police custody and set off a chaotic series of events in rural Paris, police said. Porter, wearing handcuffs and a hospital gown, stole a police vehicle, crashed it, then stole another before crashing that one and being returned to custody after an exchange of gunfire, police said.
Porter made his first appearance in court Monday after a series of delays. A judge ruled that probable cause has been established in the case and that Porter will remain in jail pending a June 4 hearing about revoking bail. The decision is appropriate because of the “incredibly serious and reckless nature of these charges,” Assistant District Attorney Richard Beauchesne said in court. He said Porter's actions posed risk to “all of the law enforcement officers that engaged in the chase.”Sign up for NECN newsletters.He has yet to enter a plea, has not yet been indicted and needs to complete a competency test before a plea can be entered, said his attorney, Justin Leary.
Law enforcement rolled out spiked mats to blow the stolen cruiser's tires. A bystander's video then captured some of the ensuing gunfire. Shots ring out in the video as Porter climbs into a second police vehicle and takes off again before crashing a second time.More Maine stories