Providence man, 41, convicted a second time in 2011 slaying of teen

PROVIDENCE – A jury on Tuesday convicted a city man for a second time in the 2011 shooting death of a 17-year-old woman as she tried to defend her sister.

A jury found Leron Porter, 41, guilty of second-degree murder and discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence that ended in death in the fatal shooting of Tiphany Tallo on Spruce Street.

The jury of six women and six men also convicted Porter of unlawful possession of a firearm after being convicted of a crime of violence.

Several of Porter’s family members wept as the verdict was returned Tuesday afternoon before Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause.

“This is [expletive],” a woman muttered as she left the courtroom. 

Leron Porter held without bail

Krause ordered Porter continue to be held without bail pending his sentencing November 10.

Porter, who was represented by Mark Smith, showed no reaction as Krause polled the jurors.

The case was prosecuted by Peter Roklan and Allison Bittl and went to the jury Monday afternoon.

It was Porter’s second trial in Tallo’s death after the 1st U.S. Court of Appeals vacated his earlier murder conviction after finding that a prosecutor used race as a factor in excluding the only Black potential juror in the case.

During jury selection, lawyers for both the prosecution and the defense are allowed to strike a certain number of potential jurors from consideration – but their reasoning cannot be based on race.  

“An explanation for a strike that assumes a prospective juror's bias in favor of a defendant because both are members of the same race is not race-neutral under clearly established Supreme Court precedent,” the court said. 

The appeals court gave the state 90 days to re-try Porter or set him free.

2013 conviction

In 2013, a judge sentenced Porter to two consecutive life sentences, plus 35 years for the crime as an habitual offender.

Porter and his family members drove to Spruce Street on May 9, 2011, to confront Tallo’s sister, Ashley, after she argued with Porter’s sister about a man. The woman began to fight, when Leron Porter pulled out a handgun and struck Ashley, knocking her to the ground. Authorities said members of the Porter family then began to stab Ashley with a knife and beat her with a blunt object.

Porter, who had recently been released from federal prison on weapons charges, shot Tiphany in the chest as she tried to help her sister.

During the course of Porter’s second trial, the Providence Police charged several of Porter’s supporters after they confronted Superior Court Judge Stephen Nugent outside the courthouse over a parking space.