THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602030360
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
A man armed with a loaded gun and seeking Gov. George F. Allen's counsel was arrested at the gate of the executive mansion Friday and taken to a hospital for mental evaluation.
Col. Lonnie Craig, superintendent of the Capitol Police, said Allen was never in danger. The governor was in the mansion with his wife and two children at the time of the incident.
No charges were immediately filed against Tineen Howard, 25, of East Orange, N.J. ``I think it's more a situation calling for treatment,'' Craig said.
Allen dismissed the incident, saying ``these sorts of things happen from time to time.'' His daughter, Tyler, 7, and son, Forrest, 4, were outside playing in the snow earlier in the morning, Allen said.
``My first concern was where were the children,'' he said. ``They could easily have been out saucering or sledding.''
Craig said Howard drove the wrong way down a city street and onto the Capitol grounds, ignoring a police officer's attempts to wave him to a stop. The man told a Capitol Police officer at the closed mansion gate that he had a gun.
Police dragged Howard from his red Plymouth Laser and found a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun between the driver's seat and the transmission console. Police questioned Howard and took him to Metropolitan Hospital for a 72-hour evaluation.
``He said, `I need help, and what better place to get help than from the governor,' '' Craig said. Asked what type of help Howard wanted, Craig said, ``I assume it was for an emotional problem.''
Howard stood rigidly and wailed ``ahhhh' as Capitol Police forced him into an unmarked police car. At one point he yelled, ``I told the officer I had a gun.'' He also shouted twice, ``I'm a college graduate.''
Virginia State University spokeswoman Lisa Katz said a 1993 yearbook pictured Howard, but she could not confirm whether he graduated. The school was closed because of snow.
An officer present at Howard's arrest was Col. Wayne Huggins, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, who had been attending a meeting at the General Assembly Building on Capitol Square.
Huggins said he was scraping snow off his windshield when Howard drove past him, splashing slush on his pants leg. He turned in time to see Howard drive past a waving Capitol Police officer and around the front of the Capitol. Huggins drove around the back to cut Howard off and found Capitol Police taking him into custody.
The officer who confiscated the gun said it was in plain sight, Huggins said. A loaded clip was in the gun, but there was no round in the chamber. Howard never picked up the gun, and police said they did not believe any gun laws were broken.
``He never acted in a threatening way,'' Craig said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color photograph of Tineen Howard appeared on page A1]
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KEYWORDS: ARREST by CNB