Executive Summary
- Gary W. Howard, 76, a convicted sex offender from Pinellas County, Florida, was arrested in Indianapolis after being a fugitive for 16 years.
- In 2010, Howard allegedly staged his own suicide in Kentucky to evade law enforcement after violating his probation.
- The U.S. Marshals Service tracked Howard to a neighborhood in Indianapolis where they suspected he was receiving help from relatives.
- Howard faces extradition to Florida for probation violations and numerous charges of failing to register as a sex offender.
A Pinellas County sex offender who evaded law enforcement for 16 years after faking his own death was arrested in Indiana, the U.S. Marshals Service announced. Gary W. Howard, 76, was taken into custody on the front porch of a home in Indianapolis.
Howard was originally convicted on 22 counts of possession of child pornography in Pinellas County, which required him to register as a sex offender for life. According to officials, he violated his probation in 2010. Subsequently, a rental vehicle belonging to Howard was discovered near Mauzy Lake in Morganfield, Kentucky. Investigators determined that evidence at the scene was arranged to suggest Howard had committed suicide in an attempt to mislead law enforcement.
The investigation into Howard’s whereabouts eventually led authorities to the Indianapolis area, where they believed relatives might have been assisting him. U.S. Marshals located him in the city’s historic Irvington neighborhood.
Upon his arrest, Howard reportedly told officers, “I had hoped to be dead before you caught up with me,” according to the U.S. Marshals’ press release.
Howard will be extradited to Florida to face charges for his probation violation and potentially 32 counts for failing to register as a sex offender. He may also face an Adam Walsh Act prosecution in Indiana. It is important to note that all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.