In the city of Birmingham, Alabama, the life of 49-year-old Felicia A. Ford, a female, was tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire. On a Thursday in the heart of a local housing community, Ford was shot multiple times, her death marking another grim statistic in the city's growing homicide rate. The incident, which occurred on February 17, 2022, left the community shaken and authorities searching for a killer.
The investigation into Felicia Ford's murder quickly pointed to a suspect
with a violent past. Alton Portlock, a man already known to the justice system as a convicted killer, was identified as the primary person of interest. Portlock had a prior murder conviction from 2003 in Mobile County, for which he had been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Now, he was wanted in connection with another brutal slaying.
A manhunt for Portlock was launched, and the search extended beyond the confines of Birmingham. After weeks on the run, law enforcement officials received a critical tip that led them to the city of Mobile. There, in a dramatic turn of events, U.S. Marshals and local police tracked Portlock to a home on Vine Street. In a desperate attempt to evade capture, he was discovered hiding in the cramped space underneath the house. His days as a fugitive were over.
Following his apprehension, Alton Portlock was taken into custody and booked into the metro jail. In addition to facing drug charges in Mobile, he was confronted with the more severe accusation of capital murder for the death of Felicia Ford. The wheels of justice began to turn as arrangements were made for his eventual transfer to Birmingham to face the charges that stemmed from that fateful February day. The case against him is currently pending in the legal system.
