Alabama deputy wounded; fugitive sought in Georgia

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Posted 7:57AM on Monday, June 24, 2002

Eds: CORRECTS spelling of dateline to Heflin, sted Helfin HEFLIN, Ala. (AP) Cleburne County Sheriff's Deputy Gary Howell, wounded in a shooting during a traffic stop, remained in critical condition Sunday at a Birmingham hospital. Police continued searching Sunday for Bill Howard, 47, a suspect in the shooting, said Sheriff Darrell Durham. Howard has been a fugitive in Alabama and Georgia for eight years. Howell, 34, was shot once in the face and once in the ribs, where his bulletproof vest did not provide protection. The shooting occurred near Fruithurst, Ala. shortly after midnight Saturday. Howell and reserve deputy Arlin Ashley stopped a pickup truck bearing a dealer tag at the intersection of U.S. Highway 78 and Cleburne County Road 65, Durham said. The pickup truck didn't have tail lights. The driver fired on the officers, hitting Howell. Ashley was not injured, Durham said. Howell was airlifted to the Birmingham hospital. The search for Howard began when law enforcement officials approached him at a house near Muscadine, Ala. causing him to flee. Assisting Alabama authorities in the search are Georgia deputies from Haralson, Carroll and Polk counties, Durham said. At the hospital, the wounded deputy's father, Kenneth Howell, said the gunfire erupted when his son asked the pickup driver for his drivers license. ``He hollered to Alvin, `He's got a gun,''' the deputy's father told The Birmingham News in a story Sunday. He said his son had gone on duty at 4 p.m. Friday. He usually patrols alone, but had taken Ashley with him Friday a move that probably saved his life. The wounded deputy's mother, Nellie Howell, had always worried about the job's risks. ``She would say every time he went out the door to go to work, `Now you know what's out there. Make sure your heart's right,'' the elder Howell said.