Suspect in Cherokee County shooting remains in custody

Jeff Lehr, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·1 min read

Dec. 27—COLUMBUS, Kan. — The suspect in the shooting Dec. 19 of a 17-year-old girl at a residence near Galena, Kansas, remained in custody Tuesday on a $30,000 bond.

Gavin L. Howard, 19, is being held at the Cherokee County Jail in Columbus on charges of aggravated battery, aggravated child endangerment, criminal use of a weapon, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and interference with law enforcement.

Cherokee County deputies dispatched to a home near Galena about 9 p.m. Dec. 19 found a girl with a gunshot injury deemed not to be life-threatening. She was taken to a Joplin hospital for treatment of the wound.

Howard was located and arrested less than three hours later.