Teen pleads not guilty

Gary Christopher Johnson, 18, walked into a federal courtroom Tuesday morning, unrestrained and wearing a gray sweat suit. He sat in a chair next to his attorney, about 10 feet from Katherine Danielle Howard’s family.
When Johnson was asked to enter a plea, he conferred with his attorney and answered, “Not guilty.” Some of Howard’s relatives began to cry.
Johnson entered his plea to firearms and drug trafficking charges Tuesday in Charlottesville’s federal court. He is a suspect charged in connection with Howard’s death.
Howard’s body was found next to her recently bought Saab in the early morning hours of Feb. 22, 2006, on Cadmus Avenue in Gordonsville. According to a search warrant affidavit, she had been shot in the back.
Howard’s brother Mike said he had never met or heard of Johnson. His first impression of the teenager was a negative one.
“What a waste,” he said. “Thank God for abortion. [There should be] no more of these guys.”
A federal grand jury handed down a four-count indictment March 13 charging Johnson with use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime that resulted in Howard’s death, possession of a stolen firearm, conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute and possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. If he is convicted of Howard’s death, he would face a possible life sentence in prison.
According to U.S. Attorney John Brownlee, Johnson had been staying with Howard and her boyfriend, Curtis Waldron, in their Orange home. The teenager, who is Waldron’s cousin, apparently ran away from his foster home in New York.
Mike Howard said Waldron and his sister had been dating for about a year, although she was hoping to get out of the relationship.
“I never liked him,” Mike Howard said, declining to comment on whether or not Waldron was involved in criminal activity.
Authorities said Johnson and Justin Marcel Harris stole about 300 grams of cocaine, $34,000, along with a MAC-11 machine pistol and a .357-caliber pistol from their hosts’ home. Waldron and Danielle Howard had driven to Pennsylvania the day before to buy her a car.
Johnson and Harris left Waldron and Howard’s neighborhood in Howard’s white van around midnight on Feb. 22, 2006, authorities said. Brownlee said Howard, who was returning from her Pennsylvania trip, spotted the men in the van and tried to stop them. After Johnson stopped, he opened his door, leaned out and shot her several times, Brownlee said.
Forensic analysis of .357 SIG casings found near Howard, in her van and near the home of the former owner of the pistol, which Howard bought as a birthday present for Waldron, showed that the bullets had all been fired from the same gun, according to authorities.
Harris was indicted Sept. 14 on charges of narcotics trafficking and being an accessory after the fact to Howard’s slaying. According to court documents, he accepted a plea deal Dec. 21. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 11.
Waldron, who is in federal custody in Pennsylvania, has been charged with drug trafficking, according to Brownlee’s office.
Mike Howard said his family has been having a difficult time throughout the investigation and the court process, although he said they have received a lot of support from friends and authorities working on the case.
Carolyn Ladd has worked with the family regularly during the investigation. Ladd, who is the director of the Orange County Victim Witness Program, said the Sheriff’s Office feels a connection with the Howards.
“Any one of us could lose a child just as tragically as this family lost their child and sister,” Ladd said. “We want our family taken care of, and that’s our extended family. It would not be uncommon for any investigators to call them up or walk into the store where they work and say hi.”
If Johnson is convicted of Howard’s murder, he would face life in prison. He remains in federal custody, although authorities have declined to say where he is being held. No further court dates have been announced.
Mike Howard said his family plans on being at Johnson’s court appearances.
“I look forward to looking at him in his eyes,” he said. “We’re going to be here for her even when she’s not on Earth.”