A man who police said was heavily-armed and heading to the Pride Parade in Los Angeles attended schools in Louisville and lives in Southern Indiana.
Police in Santa Monica, California they were called to 11th Street at about 5 a.m. local time on a call about “suspicious circumstances.” The area is just about 11 blocks from the well-known Santa Monica pier, and is where officers took 20-year-old James Howell into custody.
The Santa Monica Police Department said they found three assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and ammunition. Additionally, officers discovered a 5-gallon bucket with chemicals capable of forming an improvised explosive device in Howell’s vehicle, which has Indiana license plates.
Howell has been arrested multiple times in Southern Indiana, and after one of those arrests, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office confirmed he lived in Charlestown, while online court records list a Jeffersonville address. Howell attended Ballard High School and Kammerer Middle School in Louisville.
Most recently, Howell was arrested in October, accused of intimidation and pointing a firearm at another. He accepted a plea deal in the case in April, the terms of which required Howell to forfeit all firearms for one year.
Howell currently faces three state weapons charges for possession of firearms but if FBI decides to file additional federal charges against Howell the case would be passed up to the Assistant US Attorney’s Office.
It’s not believed that Howell’s alleged actions are connected to those of Omar Mateen, who killed 50 people and injured dozens more in an early-morning shooting at a gay nightclub in Florida.
Source: WAVE
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