NEWS RELEASE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
John L. Brownlee United States Attorney Brian McGinn Public Affairs Specialist |
BB&T Building 310 1st Street, S.W., Room 906 Roanoke, Virginia 24011 (540) 857-2974 FAX (540) 857-2179 |
March 13, 2008
NEW YORK MAN CHARGED WITH THE MURDER OF
KATHERINE DANIELLE HOWARD
United States Attorney John L. Brownlee, Orange County Commonwealth Attorney Diana H. Wheeler, Orange County Sheriff Mark Amos, and ATF RAC Bill Dunham announced today that a federal Grand Jury has charged Gary Christopher Johnson, age 18, of St. Albans, New York, with the murder of Katherine Danielle (“Dani”) Howard. The Grand Jury has charged that Mr. Johnson, an alleged drug dealer, shot and killed Ms. Howard during the early morning hours of February 22, 2006, in Gordonsville, Virginia, after stealing her car. Mr. Johnson was a juvenile at the time of the murder. At the request of the United States Attorney, the Court has transferred Mr. Johnson to adult status because of the violent nature of the charges.
“Dani Howard was a much loved young woman whose life was cut short by a dangerous and violent man,” said U.S. Attorney John Brownlee. “I am grateful to the investigators and prosecutors who solved this tragic and senseless murder. We will do everything in our power to bring justice to Dani and her family.”
“I am extremely proud of how well the local, state and federal agencies worked together in investigating this very difficult case,” said Diana H. Wheeler, Commonwealth Attorney for Orange County. “I am especially grateful to investigator Pete Siebel and ATF Special Agent John Stoltz who worked tirelessly in attempting to solve this case. I hope today’s indictment offers a sense of justice and comfort to the Howard Family.”
“For more than two years the Howard family has grieved over the loss of their beloved daughter Dani,” said Orange County Sheriff Mark Amos. “Thanks to the tireless effort of some of the finest law enforcement officials I have ever had the pleasure to work with, the process of bringing this defendant to justice begins today.”
Johnson was charged in a four count indictment with possession of a stolen firearm, conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, and use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, resulting in the death of Katherine Danielle Howard.
These charges arose out of an investigation which begun on February 22, 2006 and was conducted jointly by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Virginia.
The following is a summary of the government’s evidence previously introduced at the guilty plea hearing of Justin Harris.
In the winter of 2006, the defendant Gary Johnson was staying at the home of Katherine Danielle (“Dani”) Howard and Curtis Waldron in Gordonsville, Virginia. Johnson had run away from his foster home in New York, and Waldron, who is Johnson’s cousin, allowed Johnson to stay at his home. Curtis Waldron was a known drug dealer who sold substantial amounts of cocaine in and around Charlottesville. Waldron kept various amounts of cocaine, numerous firearms and large amounts of cash hidden inside his home.
On February 21, 2006, Waldron and Howard drove to Pennsylvania in order to buy a new car for Howard. Gary Johnson, and another man named Justin Harris, stayed behind at Waldron’s home in Gordonsville. While at Waldron’s house, Johnson and Harris stole approximately 300 grams of cocaine, $34,000 in drug money, and two firearms, a MAC 11 and a .357 pistol, from Waldron.
At approximately midnight, Johnson and Harris loaded the cash, guns and cocaine into Howard’s white minivan and left for Pennsylvania. Johnson was driving Ms. Howard’s van and carrying the loaded .357 pistol. Harris was in the front passenger seat. As the two men were leaving the housing development where Howard lived, Howard, driving her new black Saab, passed them going in the opposite direction. Howard, noticing that the two men had taken her car without permission, turned her car around and began following Johnson and Harris. Ms. Howard was honking her horn and demanding they pull over. As Howard got closer to Mr. Johnson, he pulled the van over. Ms. Howard pulled her Saab next to the van. Mr. Johnson then opened the driver’s door of the van, leaned out and shot Ms. Howard several times, killing her.
Moments later, the lifeless body of Dani Howard was found lying in a road next to her Saab in Gordonsville, Virginia. The engine of her car was still running when she was found. One .357 Sig bullet casing was recovered from the scene. There was no murder weapon found and police had no motive for the shooting.
Later that day, investigators executed a search warrant at the home of Howard. During that search, police recovered a video tape, made the day before the murder, showing Harris, Waldron, Howard and Mr. Johnson, inside Howard’s home. Police also recovered an empty Glock model 33, .357 Sig pistol case with two .357 Sig rounds inside the case. The gun case contained a sales receipt from a pawn shop in Charlottesville. Police were advised by employees at the pawn shop that Ms. Howard had purchased a Glock .357 pistol on September 2, 2005. The pistol purchased by Ms. Howard was traced to the original owner. He advised authorities that he had pawned the gun and had used it previously for target practice behind his house. Police went to the area where the prior owner had fired the gun, and recovered five .357 Sig casings and five spent bullets.
On March 7, 2006, police discovered Ms. Howard’s missing white van in Culpeper, Virginia. Police recovered a .357 Sig shell casing near the driver’s seat of the van. Lab analysis later determined that the bullet casings recovered at the crime scene, in the van, and recovered behind the prior owner’s house, all had been fired from the same gun.
If convicted on all counts, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of $2,500,000.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig “Jake” Jacobsen will prosecute the case for the United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Virginia.
A Grand Jury indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.