Up to $100,000 Reward Offered for Information Leading to Arrest or Recovery of Remains
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is releasing newly acquired photographs as we continue to ask for the public’s assistance in locating long-time fugitive Donald Eugene Webb.
Webb, one of the longest-tenured fugitives ever to appear on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, would now be 85 years old. He was added to the list on May 4, 1981, and removed on March 31, 2007. Webb is currently being sought in connection with the murder of Police Chief Gregory Adams of Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. Webb is also the only fugitive in the U.S. wanted for the murder of a police chief.
On December 4, 1980, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Adams was allegedly beaten and shot to death by Webb while performing a routine traffic stop of Webb. He is believed to have been wounded in the confrontation with Chief Adams. The white-colored Mercury Cougar getaway vehicle Webb used was located on December 21, 1980, at a Howard Johnson’s parking lot in Warwick, Rhode Island. This suggests that Webb returned to the Providence/southeastern Massachusetts area of New England after the murder.
At the time of the murder, Webb resided in New Bedford, Massachusetts with his wife and stepson. Blood evidence, linked in type to Webb, was recovered from this Mercury, further indicating that Webb had been injured during the confrontation with Chief Adams.
At the time of the murder of Chief Adams, Webb was a 49-year-old career criminal known to specialize in jewelry store burglaries. He was known to associate with others from Fall River and Taunton, Massachusetts who were connected to members of the Patriarca Crime Family in Providence, Rhode Island. He also associated with criminals in southern Florida. Webb is believed to have been in Saxonburg to case a possible burglary target. Prior to this murder, Webb was a federal fugitive wanted for a jewelry store burglary in the Albany, New York area. At the time he was pulled over by Chief Adams, he had told associates he was not going back to prison. During this time, Webb was known to reside in motels in eastern Pennsylvania, under the alias Stanley Portas. Portas was the deceased husband of Webb’s wife.
On December 31, 1980, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Webb charging unlawful flight to avoid prosecution after Webb was charged in Pennsylvania with first-degree murder for Chief Adams slaying.
Webb is a white male with brown eyes. At the time he fled, he was 5’9” in height, weighed approximately 165 pounds, and had graying brown hair. He may have a small scar on his right cheek and his right forearm. Additionally, he may have the following tattoos: “DON” on the web of his right hand and “ANN” on his chest.
His aliases include A.D. Baker, Donald Eugene Perkins, Donald Eugene Pierce, John S. Portas, Stanley John Portas, Bev Webb, Eugene Bevlin Webb, Eugene Donald Webb, and Stanley Webb.
The majority of the new photographs being released today were taken on a cruise Webb and his wife took in July 1979, approximately one year before he allegedly murdered Chief Adams.
“We’re asking the public to take a close look at these photographs that we recently acquired and contact us if they have any information about Mr. Webb’s whereabouts,” said Harold H. Shaw, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division. “The FBI cannot make the assumption Webb is deceased without verification. We’re in the final stages of this investigation, and, given Mr. Webb’s age, we’re doing everything we can to bring some closure to Chief Adams’ family and the citizens of Saxonburg.”
For the last 36 years, the FBI has been conducting the fugitive investigation for Webb, largely in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police, which is handling the homicide investigation of Chief Adams. Both agencies have been assisted by local and state police in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
The FBI would like to remind the public that it is offering a reward of up to $100,000, payable not only to any individual who can provide information about his current whereabouts but to anyone who can provide information about the location of his remains.
Anyone with information should contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Tips can also be electronically submitted at tips.fbi.gov.
SOURCE: FBI Boston