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Arresting Development

New news in the Howard Porter murder mystery.

 

From the September 12, 2007 Philadelphia Weekly

Last week's cover story detailed the curious circumstances surrounding the death of former Villanova hoops star Howard Porter. As the issue hit the streets Wednesday, news arrived that police had made an arrest in Porter's murder.

Tonya Washington told police that in May, Howard Porter solicited her for sex in exchange for money and crack. And when Porter and Washington arrived at Washington's St. Paul, Minn., home - just 2 miles from Porter's own residence - four masked men broke into the apartment demanding money and drugs. The men began beating Porter relentlessly, kicking him and punching him into submission.

"There was blood everywhere," she told cops, according to a complaint filed by police.

Hours later Porter's bloodied body was found wrapped in a carpet in an alley in North Minneapolis. He was alive, but just barely. He clung to life for a week before succumbing to his injuries on May 26.

Last week St. Paul police arrested Rashad Arthur Raleigh, allegedly one of the masked men, and charged him with the second-degree murder of Porter, 58, the standout Villanova basketball player, three-time All-American, seven-year NBA player, recovering drug addict, popular probation officer and beloved community figure.

"Is everything [Washington] said completely credible?" says Tom Walsh, spokesperson for the St. Paul police department. "No. But from our perspective, it doesn't matter."

Washington was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

Walsh says police can't be certain Porter was trolling for hookers or that he'd made a deal with Washington for sex.The area near Washington's home - a working-class neighborhood that's also home to recent immigrants from Mexico and Southeast Asia - isn't a known area for prostitution. But police feel certain Washington's information led them to Porter's murderer.

Blood splatters were found throughout the apartment, which Washington vacated shortly after Porter's death. Raleigh, who admitted to police that he'd been in Washington's home that evening (but not at the same time as Porter, he says), was recorded on a halfway home's telephone, saying that when Porter tried to run, Raleigh pulled out a gun, and it went "click, click."

Neither Washington nor Raleigh, who were both previously on probation, were ever clients of Porter, a probation officer in Minnesota since 1995. Porter wasn't on duty at the time he was beaten.

"There's an ongoing investigation," cautions Chris Crutchfield, the Ramsey County deputy director of community relations and external affairs. "Allegations have been made by people, and they're not necessarily true."

Washington has several prior arrests, including two for possession of narcotics and another for lewd behavior. Raleigh has been convicted of several assaults, including the shooting of three men after a dispute in a public park.

Porter spent time in jail for violating probation during the 1980s, when he was abusing drugs. He'd become addicted after his NBA career failed to reach the level of his college career. He'd led Villanova to the 1971 NCAA championship game, which they lost to powerhouse UCLA. Nova's magnificent 23-6 season was vacated after the NCAA learned that Porter had previously signed a contract to play professional basketball.

In 1989 Porter moved to Minnesota for drug treatment, and he became a powerful presence in the community there.

"I don't think the circumstances surrounding his death will blemish Howard in the minds of those who knew him," Crutchfield says. "People in Minnesota loved Howard, knowing his past - not just with basketball, but also with drugs. The fact that he was flawed only made him more human."

An autopsy found no drugs in Porter's system at the time of his death.

Crutchfield stresses that the full facts of what happened on the night Porter was beaten remain a mystery.

"The news is distressing," says Rhonda Rhoades, Porter's supervisor in the probation office. "That it has created a black cloud is unfortunate. But it doesn't change all the wonderful work Howard did. He touched a lot of people's lives."

Police won't say whether more arrests are expected in the case.