A former York County corrections officer was in a romantic relationship and living with a wanted fugitive and former prisoner earlier this year until he was arrested at her home late this spring. She was allowed to continue working at the jail for months afterward and faced no disciplinary action.
[RELATED: York County Deputies Arrest Fugitive Wanted by New Hampshire on Multiple Warrants…]
In the April-June issue of its newsletter, the York County Sheriff’s Department announced the May 14 arrest of Daryl Terry, a fugitive with a long history of arrests on a variety of charges, including domestic violence.
At the time of his arrest, Terry was wanted in Maine for failing to appear in court for allegedly driving with a revoked license as a habitual offender and was also wanted on an extraditable warrant in Texas for charges of possessing a firearm after a felony conviction.
The Sheriff’s Department treated the arrest as a victory for law enforcement, announcing that Terry, who also used the alias Wesley Morrell, had been transported to the York County Jail and would be held without bail pending his extradition to Texas.
What the department conspicuously failed to mention while celebrating the apprehension is that Terry had been hiding out with a then-corrections officer at the York County Jail, Esmeralda LaPorte, who also goes by Esmeralda Mari L. Frias.
The York County Jail falls under the supervision of the York County Sheriff.
Through a Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) request, The Maine Wire obtained over 70 pages of records from the York Sheriff’s Department on Terry, including the incident report detailing his arrest at LaPorte’s apartment and confirming that they were in a romantic relationship.
According to records, the sheriff’s department arrested Terry on March 1 after he was pulled over in a routine traffic stop for an equipment violation. Terry allegedly gave the deputy a false name and date of birth before eventually admitting who he was and informing the deputy that he lied because he did not have a license.
The deputy determined that indeed Terry had his license revoked as a habitual offender in 2022, and he was taken into custody and transported to the York County Jail, where LaPorte worked.
Terry was later released but failed to appear for his court date. The records do not clarify why he was not held on his extraditable warrant from Texas at that time.
Strangely, one incident report from Sergeant Kyle Kassa dated December 2021 stated that Terry had been arrested earlier that year, extradited to Texas on the firearms charge he had already incurred by that time, and was subsequently released from Texas. It is not clear why he was released from Texas in 2021 or why he remained subject to an extradition warrant for what appears to be the same crime at the time of his May 2025 arrest.
After he was released following the March 1 arrest, the Sheriff’s Department noted that he was the subject of three ongoing cautions: one from December 2021, warning that he was a felon who reportedly always carries a firearm and may be involved in drug trafficking; one from December 2022, warning that he was potentially suicidal and intended to provoke law enforcement into shooting him; and another from the date of his March arrest, affirming that he was potentially suicidal.
According to the Sheriff’s Department newsletter, they began searching for Terry in April after a roadside flagger in Waterboro reported that he had been harassing her.
Records obtained through FOAA show that on April 10, Terry’s ex-girlfriend called the police, saying that she felt threatened by posts made online by Terry. However, it is not clear if that is related to the reported incident involving the roadside flagger.
Police began attempting to locate Terry, who somehow learned that law enforcement was searching for him. According to records, he called dispatch on April 11, outraged that police were seeking him and claiming that he was out of state and arranging transportation to turn himself in to Texas authorities.
It is unclear whether Terry actually had any intention of turning himself in, but he evidently did not, as he was found hiding in Maine with LaPorte the following month.
Deputy Jonathan Marshall wrote the incident report detailing Terry’s arrest at LaPorte’s home on May 14, located in an apartment complex in Springvale.
According to Marshall, an unspecified party notified the police that the fugitive Terry was staying at the address, and Marshall learned that he was subject to an active arrest warrant in Maine and a warrant out of Texas.
Marshall’s report confirmed that not only was Terry living with LaPorte, (there identified as Esmeralda Frias) but he was also in a romantic relationship with her, describing her as his “girlfriend.”
His report confirmed that Esmeralda Mari L. Frias was employed by the York County Jail at the time of the arrest.
Through a FOAA for employment records, The Maine Wire confirmed that, while there was no one by the name of Esmeralda Frias working at the jail, there was an Esmeralda LaPorte working there in 2024 and 2025, who appears to be the same person.
“We were able to make contact with Daryl’s girlfriend Esmeralda Frias [DOB] advised Daryl was home and that she was willing to give us the key to the apartment to gain entry,” said the report.
Frias/LaPorte, whom Marshall consistently refers to by her first name, Esmeralda, informed deputies that she had spoken with Terry over the phone and that he fled when he saw them approaching the apartment building.
Deputies then withdrew down the street and waited for him to return. Frias/LaPorte reported that he had returned, and Chief Deputy Jeremy Forbes arrived on the scene with the apartment key.
Deputies entered the apartment and eventually located Terry, who was reportedly hiding in the bedroom closet under a pile of clothes. They dragged Terry out of the closet and onto the bed, where they were able to cuff him and take him into custody. He was transported to the York County Jail.
Despite the caution warning that he always carried a firearm and may be involved in drug trafficking, he was not found with any prohibited items. It is not clear whether LaPorte was working a shift at the jail when her boyfriend was booked.
The Maine Wire reached out to the York County Sheriff’s Department, asking for disciplinary records on LaPorte after she was found living with a fugitive.
Sheriff William L. King confirmed that there are no disciplinary records on file for LaPorte.
“I believe you asked for information about Officer Esmeralda LaPorte’s disciplinary record – there are no disciplinary reports in her file,” he said.
When the Maine Wire first submitted a FOAA for LaPorte’s disciplinary records and records on Terry in August, King failed to respond within the legally mandated five business days.
The Maine Wire then reminded him of his legal obligations, after which he quickly provided the requested records within hours.
In his email, King confirmed that LaPorte had resigned from her position as a corrections officer, but that she had only done so one day before The Maine Wire received the records. She was seemingly allowed to continue her work as a corrections officer until days after the Maine Wire submitted its FOAA, after which she suddenly resigned.
The Maine Wire attempted to reach out to LaPorte via the contact number listed in the incident report to hear her side of the story, but her number appears to have been deactivated. The time delay between these revelation and this report was caused by our efforts to confirm that the two individuals named Esmerelda are in fact the same person.
