Long Beach Man Charged With Murder for Running Over His 89-Year-Old Father

Robert Daniel Porter stayed at the scene after police say he ran over his 89-year-old father with a vehicle on a Saturday afternoon in Long Beach's Wrigley Heights neighborhood, waiting there as officers and neighbors scrambled to lift the car off the dying man with a borrowed floor jack.

Long Beach police were dispatched at about 1:50 p.m. on March 7 to the 600 block of West Wardlow Road, near Magnolia Avenue, after receiving a call about a family disturbance involving a father and son. Arriving officers found William Porter, 89, pinned underneath a vehicle in front of a residence. "Officers attempted to rescue the elderly man with the assistance of nearby residents, who assisted by providing a floor jack, which officers used to raise the vehicle high enough to extricate the victim until Long Beach Fire Department personnel arrived," police said. Once LBFD personnel reached the scene and rendered aid, William Porter was pronounced dead.

Robert Daniel Porter, 50, was arrested at the scene without further incident and initially booked on suspicion of murder. The Long Beach Police Department's preliminary investigation determined he had intentionally struck his father with the vehicle.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office formally charged Porter with murder on Tuesday, March 11. He was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of just over $2.1 million bail while awaiting arraignment April 1 at a Long Beach courtroom. The criminal complaint includes allegations that Porter personally used a deadly weapon and that he carries a prior strike, according to the DA's Office.

Anyone with information about the case can contact LBPD Homicide Detectives Ethan Shear or Kelsey Myers at 562-570-7244. Anonymous tips can be submitted through LA Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or lacrimestoppers.org.