Massachusetts escapee with violent history captured in Georgia

A man facing Massachusetts charges of assault with intent to rape, assault with a dangerous weapon, and attempts to intimidate judicial and law enforcement officials — who was being sought by the Massachusetts State Police and the US Marshals Service after he escaped from the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston in September – was captured Saturday after Troopers, Marshals and other police officers determined he was in rural Georgia.

According to Dave Procopio of the Massachusetts State Police, a man matching the description of fugitive Darren P. Devine, 30, was spotted walking on Highway 32 in Brantley County, Ga., on Saturday. Brantley County Sheriff’s Department Deputies located the man, confirmed he was Devine, and placed him in custody without incident.

Devine is wanted in Massachusetts on multiple warrants issued by Orleans District Court and Barnstable District Court on a host of charges, including assault with intent to rape, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, domestic assault and battery, strangulation, breaking and entering in the nighttime, vandalism, intimidation, possession of a Class B narcotic with intent to distribute, larceny, and motor vehicle violations. He is also wanted on a warrant from West Roxbury District Court charging him with escaping from a penal institution.

On the afternoon of September 11, 2021, while on an outdoor break, Devine escaped from the Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain, to where he had previously been committed by a District Court judge. Devine scaled a high fence in the holding facility and fled on foot.

The MSP Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and members of a US Marshals Boston task force began searching for Devine, conducting address checks, interviews, and surveillance, but did not locate him. Devine was known by investigators to have a history of violence and an ability to hide and survive in the woods.

MSP VFAS and the USMS task force continued to work with other state and local police agencies to search for Devine in numerous locations, including places in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, along the Canadian border, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. On Jan. 9, the Louisa County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Department notified MSP VFAS that Devine was a potential suspect in an active larceny investigation there.

Later that week, MSP VFAS and the USMS received information suggesting that Devine was traveling by car with his brother in the area of Savannah, Ga., and relayed the intelligence to USMS Southeast Regional Violent Fugitive Task Force, which quickly responded to the area and set up surveillance. On Thursday, Jan. 13, USMS with assistance from the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Corrections, and Deputies from various Sheriffs’ Departments located Devine’s brother, Jordan Devine, at a convenience store. After a brief investigation Jordan Devine was arrested and charged with impeding an investigation and possession of narcotics.

Law enforcement officers from the multiple Georgia agencies, utilizing foot patrols, K9s, and helicopters, converged on an approximately 3,000-acre, heavily-wooded swath of land where Darren Devine was believed to be camping. On Friday evening, Deputies and Officers tracked Devine to a swamp and established a perimeter to ensure he could not escape. The next morning, Devine was spotted on the highway and arrested.

Devine was booked and is being held at the Brantley County Jail pending rendition to Massachusetts to answer to the charges here.