Pct. 4 Cuffing & Stuffing in the Dark
HARRIS COUNTY, TX- On Thursday, Deputies with Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman’s Office responded to a suspicious vehicle / loitering call near a gun store in the 4400 block of Spring Cypress Road, where there was no electricity. Deputies found the vehicle and discovered the owner, Urick Howell, had an open warrant for Murder/Manslaughter.
Constable Mark Herman’s Special Operations and K9 Unit responded and conducted a warrant service on the vehicle, safely apprehending the driver.
Urick Howell, 39, was charged with first-degree murder in the 2017 death of 26-year-old Byron Booker at a Spring area apartment complex. At the time, law enforcement said the two men argued before Howell left, but later returned and shot Booker in the head, leaving him dead or dying on the apartments’ driveway.
Although Howell was indicted for first-degree murder, public records show his attorney worked out a plea agreement reducing Howell’s charge to second-degree felony Manslaughter, with a sentence of only 150 days in jail and six years’ probation. Howell even got deferred adjudication, meaning Howell only had to comply with the terms of his probation for six years, and then he could get the murder removed from his criminal record. It was quite a deal and one many sitting in jail for similar charges probably wouldn’t believe.
Howell signed his plea agreement October 4, 2023, and presumably then began his 150-day jail term, before being released on supervised probation.
Around three months later, Howell found himself behind bars in Conroe. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office arrested Howell June 3, on Sawdust Road for Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and Driving While License Invalid w/ Previous Conviction. Howell was released from the Montgomery County Jail on bond, and on July 1 the presiding District Judge in his murder / manslaughter case signed a warrant for his arrest. On July 11, just 10 days later, Pct. 4 Deputies responded to the previously mentioned call regarding someone suspicious near a gun shop where Hurricane Beryl had caused a power outage.
“Urick Howell was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail for his Murder/Manslaughter Warrant. His court and bond information are not available at this time,” Constable Mark Herman said.