PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Providence man twice convicted of shooting and killing a teenager more than a decade ago will spend the rest of his life behind bars, according to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.
Leron Porter, 42, was found guilty last October of killing 17-year-old Tiphany Tallo during a violent melee inside a Providence home back in May 2011.
Prosecutors said Porter and several family members drove there that night to confront Tallo’s sister about an ongoing dispute.
When they arrived, Porter and Tallo’s sister immediately started fighting, according to prosecutors. The situation escalated when his family members started stabbing her with a knife and beating her with a wooden bat.
Prosecutors said Porter then shot Tallo in the chest as she tried to intervene. She was rushed to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Porter and his family members took off after the shooting, but were apprehended a short time later.
“Tiphany Tallo meant everything to her family, friends and community,” Neronha said. “Just 17 years old when she was murdered … she had her whole life ahead of her. A life that undoubtedly would have brought much joy to others and accomplished much for the community. Her possibilities were limitless.”
Porter was found guilty of second-degree murder, discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence resulting in death, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
This is the second time Porter was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for Tallo’s murder. He was ordered to serve consecutive life sentences back in 2014, but that conviction was vacated after his attorneys argued that his civil rights were violated.
Porter was on supervised release after serving nearly eight years behind bars for a federal firearms violation, according to prosecutors. He was released from custody just days before he shot and killed Tallo.
Porter was sentenced a second time Tuesday to consecutive life sentences at the ACI, on top of a 35-year sentence for being a habitual criminal.
Neronha said Porter “deserves every minute of the decades of imprisonment by the court.”
“Tiphany will be remembered long after [Porter] is forgotten,” Neronha concluded.

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