19-year-old on house arrest for shooting into buildings charged with possession of ammunition

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jordan Isaiah Howard, 19, who was arrested on April 15 for violating community control (house arrest), has now been charged with possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.

Howard was on juvenile probation in December 2022 when he fired multiple times from the back seat of a car that drove through Eastwood Meadows while children were playing outside. Howard, who was 17 at the time, was charged as an adult and entered an open plea of nolo contendere to firing a weapon into residential buildings, shooting from a vehicle within 1,000 feet of a person, discharging a firearm in public, and possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent (a juvenile convicted of an offense that would be a felony for an adult) who is under 24.

A letter of support submitted by a family member in May 2023 states that Howard is “an exceptional young man… He simply has fallen into growing pains associated with peers that he should have steered clear from… I feel that with the proper social outlet for Jordan he can continue on the path he was on prior to these stumbling blocks. We his family and friends ask that Jordan be given another opportunity to prove he is a vital proactive part of society.”

The plea document states that the maximum sentence for the charges is 46 years in state prison. In May 2023, Judge Phillip Pena sentenced Howard as a youthful offender to 364 days in jail, with credit for 144 days served, followed by two years of community control and then three years of felony probation.

On April 9, Howard’s probation officer filed an affidavit that said he had violated community control by not being home when the probation officer went to his residence; since this was the second violation, a warrant was issued for his arrest, and Howard was arrested on April 15.

On April 16, Gainesville Police Department Officers executed a search warrant at Howard’s residence and found “numerous rounds of live ammunition” in Howard’s bedroom closet; the report notes that Howard shares a bedroom with his younger brother, who is also on felony probation. The report states that two rounds of ammunition were in a box that also contained paperwork that Howard must submit every week for his probation.

Howard is being held without bail for violating house arrest, and Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $25,000 on the new charge.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.