Carrollton Leader > News
FBI failed to give police pertinent information until after Nancy Howard shooting
By Marthe Stinton, mstinton@starlocalnews.com
Following the arrests of several individuals associated with the attempted murder-for-hire scheme of Carrollton resident Nancy Howard, some news reports have stated that the Carrollton Police Department may have failed to act to prevent the near-fatal attack on Nancy Howard.
John Stovall, public information officer for the Carrollton Police Department, said that is not the case.
"Prior to the shooting, the Carrollton Police Department did not have any specific information about a particular offense or victim," Stovall said. "We had received some general unvetted information that we were attempting to follow up on. We did have investigators that were looking into the veracity of the statements at the time of this offense."
An affidavit for the arrest of John Howard states that a written statement from the FBI was given to Detective Michael Wall six days after the attempted murder.
Carrollton police stated in the affidavit for John Howard's arrest that on Aug. 24 Wall received a written statement from the FBI, six days after the shooting. On Aug. 6, alleged hit man Dustin Hiroms's mother, Stacey Serenko, told the FBI agent that the family had been in contact with Howard since 2009. Serenko was in custody at Wood County Jail, being held on unrelated drug charges. She also told the agent that John Howard had given the group $85,000 on initial contact.
Within hours of the shooting, the department was developing information that implicated John Howard's possible involvement in the incident, Stovall said. The Carrollton Police Department is coordinating efforts with the FBI during this investigation.
However, Carrollton police are no longer commenting on the story stating, "due to the complexity of this case, the Denton County District Attorney's Office has asked us not to comment further about any details of the investigation."
Below is a timeline of events according to the Carrollton Police Department's arrest affidavit for Dustin Taylor Hiroms and John Franklin Howard.
Timeline:
July 4: Dustin Hiroms met John Howard at the Walmart located on East Trinity Mills in Carrollton. John Howard drove Hiroms to his home and stated that he wanted his wife to be killed. After returning to Walmart, John Howard paid Hiroms $24,000.
July 13: Dustin Hiroms and Jason Rendine were stopped for traffic violations half a mile away from the Howards' home in Carrollton. Hiroms originally told officers he was in the area to get money from his uncle, but later changed his story stating he was working for a man named John and that Hiroms was a hit man.
July 15: Carrollton police received information from the Van Police Department that Rendine had been talking about a "hit" that Dustin Hiroms was involved in. Rendine said Hiroms was hired to "get rid of" the wife of a Carrollton man. Rendine also told officers Hiroms had recently received $30,000 from the Carrollton man.
July 26: Rendine's wife, Stephanie Delacerda, received a wire transfer of $20,000 deposited into her Wells Fargo bank account from Genschu Management Company, where John Howard is listed as the registered agent, director and president.
Aug. 4: Hiroms contacted John Howard who later drove to Van, to meet with Hiroms. According to Hiroms's statements given to Van police, he received $5,000 in cash and John Howard told Hiroms Nancy Howard would be staying at the Gaylord Texan from Aug. 8 to 11. Howard told Hiroms he wanted Nancy to be killed at that time and he wanted Hiroms to refrain from using a gun, because of the attention that it could call to the incident. John Howard told Hiroms to use a knife or bat instead.
Aug. 6: Stacey Serenko provided the FBI with information on the "hit." Serenko said John Howard contacted Serenko's husband and Hiroms's stepfather, Billie Johnson, because John Howard was told Johnson "did murder for hire." Serenko said John Howard had been in contact with Serenko and Johnson since February 2009, when Howard gave the pair $85,000 on initial contact.
Aug. 18: Police were dispatched to the Howard residence on Bluebonnet Way in regard to a shooting at 7:52 p.m. on Aug. 18. Upon arrival, officers found Nancy Howard, who had suffered a gunshot wound to the face. Nancy Howard told police she was confronted in the garage by an unknown white male in his early 20s when she arrived home. The suspect was wearing a black baseball hat, black-rimmed glasses and put a silver handgun to Nancy Howard's head and demanded her purse. Nancy Howard gave the man her purse and was shot just above her left eye.
Aug. 22: Bossier Parish Sherriff's Department notified Carrollton Police Detective Michael Wall that Rendine and Delacerda had been arrested for unrelated drug charges. Upon arrest, Delacerda was in possession of $14,900 in cash and a Samsung cell phone. Police found a Wells Fargo checkbook in Delacerda's name at the pair's residence. Delacerda told officers she had been paid $35,000 by John Howard for a business transaction. She later changed her story and said the $35,000 was for "sexual contacts" with John Howard.
Aug. 24: Billie Johnson, currently incarcerated, contacted police officials. In an interview at the Denton County Sherriff's Office, Johnson told officers that approximately three years ago he had been contact by John Howard because Howard wanted to have his wife killed.
Aug. 24: Detective Michael Wall received a written statement from the FBI with Serenko's statements that had been provided to Bossier Parish police on Aug. 6. Wall obtained an arrest warrant for Hiroms for the aggravated robbery of Nancy Howard.
Aug. 26: Dustin Hiroms was taken into custody at the Smith County Sherriff's office and denied being any part of the aggravated robbery, but admitted to being contacted by John Howard. Hiroms confirmed the identity of John Howard via a cell phone photograph.
Aug. 27: John Howard was booked into the Denton County Jail on a charge of criminal solicitation.
Aug. 29: Dustin Hiroms was booked into the Denton County Jail on a charge of criminal solicitation.
John Stovall, public information officer for the Carrollton Police Department, said that is not the case.
"Prior to the shooting, the Carrollton Police Department did not have any specific information about a particular offense or victim," Stovall said. "We had received some general unvetted information that we were attempting to follow up on. We did have investigators that were looking into the veracity of the statements at the time of this offense."
An affidavit for the arrest of John Howard states that a written statement from the FBI was given to Detective Michael Wall six days after the attempted murder.
Carrollton police stated in the affidavit for John Howard's arrest that on Aug. 24 Wall received a written statement from the FBI, six days after the shooting. On Aug. 6, alleged hit man Dustin Hiroms's mother, Stacey Serenko, told the FBI agent that the family had been in contact with Howard since 2009. Serenko was in custody at Wood County Jail, being held on unrelated drug charges. She also told the agent that John Howard had given the group $85,000 on initial contact.
Within hours of the shooting, the department was developing information that implicated John Howard's possible involvement in the incident, Stovall said. The Carrollton Police Department is coordinating efforts with the FBI during this investigation.
However, Carrollton police are no longer commenting on the story stating, "due to the complexity of this case, the Denton County District Attorney's Office has asked us not to comment further about any details of the investigation."
Below is a timeline of events according to the Carrollton Police Department's arrest affidavit for Dustin Taylor Hiroms and John Franklin Howard.
Timeline:
July 4: Dustin Hiroms met John Howard at the Walmart located on East Trinity Mills in Carrollton. John Howard drove Hiroms to his home and stated that he wanted his wife to be killed. After returning to Walmart, John Howard paid Hiroms $24,000.
July 13: Dustin Hiroms and Jason Rendine were stopped for traffic violations half a mile away from the Howards' home in Carrollton. Hiroms originally told officers he was in the area to get money from his uncle, but later changed his story stating he was working for a man named John and that Hiroms was a hit man.
July 15: Carrollton police received information from the Van Police Department that Rendine had been talking about a "hit" that Dustin Hiroms was involved in. Rendine said Hiroms was hired to "get rid of" the wife of a Carrollton man. Rendine also told officers Hiroms had recently received $30,000 from the Carrollton man.
July 26: Rendine's wife, Stephanie Delacerda, received a wire transfer of $20,000 deposited into her Wells Fargo bank account from Genschu Management Company, where John Howard is listed as the registered agent, director and president.
Aug. 4: Hiroms contacted John Howard who later drove to Van, to meet with Hiroms. According to Hiroms's statements given to Van police, he received $5,000 in cash and John Howard told Hiroms Nancy Howard would be staying at the Gaylord Texan from Aug. 8 to 11. Howard told Hiroms he wanted Nancy to be killed at that time and he wanted Hiroms to refrain from using a gun, because of the attention that it could call to the incident. John Howard told Hiroms to use a knife or bat instead.
Aug. 6: Stacey Serenko provided the FBI with information on the "hit." Serenko said John Howard contacted Serenko's husband and Hiroms's stepfather, Billie Johnson, because John Howard was told Johnson "did murder for hire." Serenko said John Howard had been in contact with Serenko and Johnson since February 2009, when Howard gave the pair $85,000 on initial contact.
Aug. 18: Police were dispatched to the Howard residence on Bluebonnet Way in regard to a shooting at 7:52 p.m. on Aug. 18. Upon arrival, officers found Nancy Howard, who had suffered a gunshot wound to the face. Nancy Howard told police she was confronted in the garage by an unknown white male in his early 20s when she arrived home. The suspect was wearing a black baseball hat, black-rimmed glasses and put a silver handgun to Nancy Howard's head and demanded her purse. Nancy Howard gave the man her purse and was shot just above her left eye.
Aug. 22: Bossier Parish Sherriff's Department notified Carrollton Police Detective Michael Wall that Rendine and Delacerda had been arrested for unrelated drug charges. Upon arrest, Delacerda was in possession of $14,900 in cash and a Samsung cell phone. Police found a Wells Fargo checkbook in Delacerda's name at the pair's residence. Delacerda told officers she had been paid $35,000 by John Howard for a business transaction. She later changed her story and said the $35,000 was for "sexual contacts" with John Howard.
Aug. 24: Billie Johnson, currently incarcerated, contacted police officials. In an interview at the Denton County Sherriff's Office, Johnson told officers that approximately three years ago he had been contact by John Howard because Howard wanted to have his wife killed.
Aug. 24: Detective Michael Wall received a written statement from the FBI with Serenko's statements that had been provided to Bossier Parish police on Aug. 6. Wall obtained an arrest warrant for Hiroms for the aggravated robbery of Nancy Howard.
Aug. 26: Dustin Hiroms was taken into custody at the Smith County Sherriff's office and denied being any part of the aggravated robbery, but admitted to being contacted by John Howard. Hiroms confirmed the identity of John Howard via a cell phone photograph.
Aug. 27: John Howard was booked into the Denton County Jail on a charge of criminal solicitation.
Aug. 29: Dustin Hiroms was booked into the Denton County Jail on a charge of criminal solicitation.
Copyright © 2013 - Star Local News