Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 9, 1990 TAG: 9005090497
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: NEAL THOMPSON NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury listened for seven hours to different versions of the events of Aug. 1, 1986, which prompted a series of lawsuits and countersuits among 10 people involved in the shooting.
It was the second day of a trial that is expected to last the rest of the week.
At day's end, all anyone seemed to really know for sure about that night was this:
A shootout broke out at the boundary of the properties owned by two brothers - John and Frank Howard.
The shooting was prompted by previous claims by both brothers of vandalism, harassment and threats after a year-long dispute over property owned by their mother.
The shooting involved seven people standing near their cars on Frank Howard's property and two security guards who had been hired by John Howard and shot rifles, handguns and a shotgun at the others while crouched inside John Howard's carport.
Steven Jewel, a friend and distant relative of Frank Howard's, was shot three times and badly injured.
A few days after the shooting, John Howard was found dead in his truck after apparently committing suicide.
Aside from that, the sides disagreed on a number of key points, including the question of which side shot first.
The lawsuits began about a year after the shooting.
The first was filed by Jewel who sought $3.5 million in damages from Katherine Howard, the estate of her deceased husband and the two security guards, James D. Clark and Burke W. May.
Katherine Howard then filed suit against Jewel, Frank Howard and his wife, Joyce, and four others who were with Frank Howard and involved in the shooting that night.
Those six, excluding Jewel, in turn filed counterclaims against Katherine Howard, each seeking $3 million in damages for emotional distress.
All the lawsuits are being heard together.
The jury listened Tuesday to testimony from Jimmy Miller, a friend of Frank Howard's who was with him that night and was nicked on the hand by a bullet.
"I didn't realize they were shooting at us until I heard air coming out of the tire we were crouched down next to," Miller said. "It sounded like something out of a movie. I never heard anything like it before. I was absolutely scared to death."
Miller admitted that he and a few others lied to police that night, telling them they did not have guns when they actually did have two rifles.
One of the rifles belonged to Jewel's brother, Gary Richard, another friend of Frank Howard's who testified that he shot his rifle into the air and screamed at Clark and May to stop shooting.
Gary Richard Jewel testified that he lied to police that night because, "I was scared, nervous and I thought that everything was gonna get turned around so it appeared that we shot first."
A week later they told police they had guns that night.
Also testifying Tuesday was a maid who had been hired to care for John and Frank Howard's mother, who was staying at John Howard's house.
She was working that night and said it appeared that May fired first when Clark told him to shoot out an outdoor light. He shot three times before hitting the light and an exchange of gunshots followed, she said.
Clark and May, who are representing themselves, have previously testified that they were fired upon first and fired back in self defense.
James Turk of Radford and Keith Neely of Christiansburg, who represent Jewel, Frank Howard and the five others, finished presenting their case Tuesday. Katherine Howard's lawyers, Jerry Jebo of Radford and Don Huffman of Roanoke, will begin calling witnesses today.
by CNB