Police say Daniel Jacob Howard assaulted his mother and girlfriend, then threatened to kill himself during an armed standoff with police.
A 27-year-old man who was charged in a two-hour armed standoff with police, after firing shots during a dispute with his mother and girlfriend in Plymouth Township, has pleaded guilty to a single weapons charge after authorities agreed to dismiss seven other counts, court records show.
Daniel Jacob Howard, who police say threatened to kill himself, could face penalties ranging from probation to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 18 for a Mother’s Day 2016 incident involving police from Plymouth Township, Livonia, Canton, Plymouth, Redford, Michigan State Police and the western Wayne County special weapons and tactics team.
Howard’s sentencing by Wayne County Circuit Judge Ulysses Boykin comes after he was initially deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial and aid in his own defense. That ruling was since reversed after he received treatment.
In return for his guilty plea, authorities agreed to drop seven other counts, including firing a weapon from a vehicle, fleeing from police, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting and obstructing a police officer, using a felony firearm and two counts of domestic violence involving his mother and girlfriend, court records show.
A phone message seeking comment was left for Howard’s attorney.
Howard’s troubles began after he quarreled with his girlfriend, police said. The incident occurred about 3 p.m. May 8,2016, at his mother’s house on Tavistock, where police say he assaulted his mother and his girlfriend, retrieved a pistol and fired one shot into a basement wall.
When police arrived, Howard was accused of ignoring orders to put down his weapon. He then left the house, fired a shot into the air and another into a window of his girlfriend’s car as he drove off, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has said.
He then led police from Plymouth Township to Livonia, where he crashed a Chevrolet Cruze on eastbound I-96, near Newburgh. As a tense situation unfolded, he stood next to his vehicle and pointed a handgun to his head, Plymouth Township Police Chief Tom Tiderington has said.
Police closed I-96 and nearby roads to traffic as police negotiators talked to Howard and encouraged him to give up, Tiderington has said.
Tiderington called it “a team effort” that ended with no bloodshed. No one was seriously injured during the ordeal.
After initially being deemed incompetent, Howard’s case took a turn after he was declared competent last July, leading to a preliminary hearing in Plymouth 35th District Court that ended with him being ordered to stand trial.
