Jill Disis, and Michael Anthony Adams

IndyStar

JEFFERSONVILLE — The James Wesley Howell that Jeffersonville knew was a quiet young man best known for walking his black Labrador, Midnight, through the streets of the well-to-do Louisville, Ky., suburb his parents called home.

But 30 minutes away in the small city of Charlestown, friends and a boyfriend told a different story. This Howell, they said, was a troubled and sometimes violent man who had a dangerous relationship with fast cars, big guns and many of the people closest to him.

It remains unclear why the Southern Indiana man was in Santa Monica, Calif., early Sunday, when he was stopped on his way to a gay pride event in Los Angeles. When Howell, 20, was arrested, police said they discovered three assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and ammunition in his car, along with a five-gallon bucket filled with explosive chemicals. He remains in jail there on a $500,000 bond. The FBI also is investigating.

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Joseph Greeson, of Clarksville, said he hadn’t spoken with Howell since June 1. The two car enthusiasts met through a friend last November, and Greeson had done some rim and lighting work on Howell’s Acura, the same car Howell was driving when police stopped him in Santa Monica.

“I never really got, like, any bad signals,” said Greeson, 18. “Just that it was strange and kind of weird. He was an only child and just kind of lonerish. I don't know. It’s hard to explain.”

Greeson said he heard his friend had skipped town last week. Howell’s parents called Greeson’s mother looking for their son. And though Greeson said he knew Howell faced prior legal trouble in Indiana, he said he couldn’t fathom the man driving to California to harm anyone.

“He might have got scared because he got in trouble here and stuff,” Greeson said. “He might have just been heading out and then had the guns with him for whatever reason and just, you know, wrong place and wrong time.”

Howell’s most recent troubles occurred last October, when he was arrested in Clark County after police said he pointed a loaded gun at a neighbor. He was ordered to forfeit all weapons in April after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor intimidation charge connected to the case. As part of the deal, Howell was sentenced to a year of probation. A felony charge of pointing a firearm was dismissed. An Indiana probation officer met with Howell three weeks ago, rated him a low-level offender, and had yet to schedule an in-home visit, according to the Associated Press.

Across the river in Louisville, Howell’s fate in criminal court is pending. Three days after his plea deal in Clark County, a grand jury indicted Howell on charges of speeding, fleeing police and reckless driving. Howell is accused of driving 103 mph in a 55 mph zone in February. Police allege he sped off before an officer could arrest him.

In a video of the incident Howell sent to Greeson and other friends, the police officer is seen asking for Howell to roll his windows up and get out of the car. Howell, ignoring the officer, steps on the gas.

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“He sent it to all of us in a group and thought he was, like, badass for running away from the cops,” Greeson said. “We all quit talking to him for a while after that.”

Early police reports suggested that Howell told Santa Monica authorities he intended to inflict harm at the gay pride parade in West Hollywood. Department officials later walked those comments back, saying the man had only told them he was headed that way.

Howell's arrest came as the country reeled from the massacre in Orlando, Fla., in which a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub early Sunday. The incident stoked fears of violence at gay pride events across the country, though police said they do not know of any connection between Howell and the shootings in Orlando.

Greeson and others told IndyStar that Howell harbored no violent feelings toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. In fact, they said, Howell is gay.

“He didn’t like anybody to know about it,” said Zach Hambrick, an ex-boyfriend from Charlestown. Hambrick said he met Howell on a dating app. Although the pair were happy at first, Hambrick said, things soon went south. They haven't spoken in several months, Hambrick said.

“After things went bad, that’s when he started getting violent with me,” said Hambrick, 17. Asked about Howell’s arrest in Santa Monica, Hambrick said, “It didn’t surprise me. It didn’t surprise me at all.”

Hambrick said his ex-boyfriend kept a collection of guns. In a small house Howell briefly shared with Hambrick in Charlestown, neighbors said, he kept a couple of handguns and a rifle displayed in his room.

“I don’t know why he had so many,” Hambrick said. “He didn’t hunt. He just had them.”

Records from the Charlestown Police Department detail allegations that the day before Howell’s October arrest, he pointed a rifle at Hambrick. Howell told police he held the gun at his shoulder but kept it pointed skyward as he told his former boyfriend to leave, an account echoed by multiple witnesses. No charges arose from that allegation.

Jeremy Hebert, 37, the Charlestown neighbor named in the October 2015 arrest report, said he had multiple concerns about Howell. During one of Hebert's encounters with Howell, the younger man sat in his car, clearing ammunition from his rifle. Between each rack, he raised his gun and pointed it at Hebert.

Another time, Hebert said, he overheard Howell yelling that he wished “he could take everybody out.”

“Get the kid some help and everything,” Hebert said.

Howell is scheduled for an arraignment in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Prosecutors in his pending Louisville case, meanwhile, filed a motion Monday to revoke Howell’s bond in that case, according to the Jefferson Commonwealth attorney’s office.

Back in the Jeffersonville neighborhood that Howell’s parents called home, many neighbors declined to speak with IndyStar. The large house belonging to his parents was apparently empty; a privacy screen set up just inside the doorway shielded the interior from view.

Chris Rowe, 43, who lives a few houses down, said he was friendly with the Howells and never expected something could be amiss.

“His parents have given zero indication that they are anything but squared away,” Rowe said.

Rowe, who works as a juvenile probation officer in nearby Floyd County, said he was previously unfamiliar with Howell’s criminal history in Clark County. But he said he sympathized with the man’s parents.

“I deal with juveniles, so I know the pickle they get in. That’s their flesh and blood. That’s their kid. What are you supposed to do? You can’t just boot him out on the street,” Rowe said.

“I feel bad for the parents. Your child is how many thousands of miles away? When are you going to get to see him again?”

The Associated Press and Louisville Courier-Journal reporter Matthew Glowicki contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter:@jdisis.

Call IndyStar reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @michaeladams317.