When he was picked up in Santa Monica, there was an assault rifle in his car’s passenger seat and 15 pounds of “Shoc-Shot,” two chemicals that explode when mixed and shot. Under the terms of his probation, Howell was not allowed to have weapons or leave Indiana. Howell was convicted in April of misdemeanor intimidation for the incident with his neighbor. In October, he twice was accused of pulling a gun and making threats, once against his then-boyfriend and once against a neighbor.
Howell recently drove from Indiana to Los Angeles because of pending charges against him in his home state, according to statements he made to police.Īuthorities haven’t disclosed any evidence that Howell intended violence at the LA Pride event in West Hollywood that attracts hundreds of thousands of people.įriends in Indiana described Howell as a gun enthusiast with a short temper. “I cannot in good conscience think of any reasonable reason that somebody would be traveling across the country with all of these things,” he said. But together, they “just don’t pass the common sense test.” Alone, each item found in Howell’s car might not indicate anything sinister, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz said.
