On the 35th Anniversary of the Murder of Saxonburg Police Chief Gregory Adams, the Chief’s Killer Donald Eugene Webb Remains a Fugitive

FBI Pittsburgh
4 December 2015

Today, December 4, 2015, the FBI marks the 35th anniversary of the murder of Pennsylvania Police Chief Gregory Adams and announces a reward of up to $100,000 for Donald Eugene Webb, the fugitive wanted for this heinous crime. This reward is payable not only to any person who can take us to a location leading to the arrest of Webb but to any person who can take us to a location of Webb’s remains. Webb, one of the longest tenured fugitives ever to appear on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list, would now be 84 years old. The FBI remains committed to bringing this violent criminal to justice.

On December 4, 1980, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Police Chief Gregory Adams of the Saxonburg Borough Police Department, located in Butler County in northwestern Pennsylvania, was allegedly beaten and shot to death by Donald Eugene Webb while performing a routine traffic stop of Webb. Webb is believed to have been wounded in the confrontation with Chief Adams. The white-colored Mercury Cougar getaway vehicle utilized by Webb was located on December 21, 1980, at a Howard Johnson’s parking lot in Warwick, Rhode Island. This suggests that Webb returned to the Providence/Southeastern Massachusetts area of New England after the murder. Blood evidence linked in type to Webb was recovered from this Mercury, further indicating that Webb had been injured during the confrontation with Chief Adams.

At the time of the murder of Chief Adams, Webb was a 50-year-old career criminal, known to specialize in jewelry store burglaries. He resided in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and was known to associate with others from Fall River and Taunton, Massachusetts, who were connected to members of the Patriarca Crime Family in Providence, Rhode Island. Webb is believed to have been in Saxonburg to case a possible burglary target. Prior to this murder, Webb was a federal fugitive wanted for a jewelry store burglary in the Albany, New York area. He was known to reside under an alias in hotels in Eastern Pennsylvania.

For the last 35 years, the FBI has been conducting the fugitive investigation for Webb, largely in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police which is handling the homicide investigation of Chief Adams. Both agencies have been assisted by local and state police in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The FBI is asking anyone who may have information regarding the whereabouts of Donald Eugene Webb, dead or alive, to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).