Webb City and Alba, MO - Dustin Howe is a rowdy boy. At the ripe old age of 18, his criminal record in Jasper County, Missouri, reads like a Good Ol’ Redneck handbook: disturbing the peace, driving while suspended, non payment of court costs, failure to register a motor vehicle, failure to provide insurance, one dropped restraining order.. you get the idea. Now Dustin gets to add assault with injury to that list, because he is accused of shooting his grandmother. With an airsoft gun. Enough times to send her to the hospital. Webb City Cardinals represent!
This whole thing started back in January when Patty Howe, Dustin’s grandmother, was staying in her Alba home on a long visit from California. Dustin, his father Del Howe, and Dustin’s younger sister were all in the home a lot of the time, along with Dustin’s girlfriend. Over a period of several days in January, Dustin thought it would be fun to shoot Grandma with an airsoft pellet rifle. Repeatedly.
Oh, sure. It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.
Well, luckily Patty Howe didn’t lose an eye, but she did get pretty banged up and did suffer eye injuries that required a trip to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, the closest large hospital. Patty Howe also had pellet wounds to her hips and legs. After the eye shots, which left bruising to her eyebrow and eyelid and penetrated the skin to her face, Grandma had had it up to THERE and threatened to call the law. Which resulted in Dustin’s dad, Del Howe, locking his mother out of her own home. Nice family, that. Remind me to swing by and say hey next time I’m in the neighborhood.
Patty Howe went to the hospital and called the law, just like she promised. She must have been pretty upset, though, because St. John’s held her on a psych evaluation for a couple of days. Her eye wasn’t bad enough to admit her, but apparently her emotional state was.
Del Howe, for his part, wouldn’t let officers search the home. Then he told officers that his mama was just plumb crazy and “probably shot herself just to get the boy in trouble”. Sure. Because shooting yourself in the eye with an airsoft rifle is how we play Dysfunctional Family Revenge Roulette in the ‘Zarks, y’all.
Anyway, it took a bajillion continuances for Judge Copeland in Jasper County to find a public defender who would take this little twerp’s case. Especially since Patty Howe turned right around and bailed Dustin’s happy ass out of jail. Way to stand firm on the discipline, there, Grandma!
On Tuesday, the current public defender asked to get out of the whole mess, quite possibly on the grounds of “my client is a dumbass redneck who is mean to his grandmother”, but Copeland told him nope, he has to stick it out. I suspect that he may have been reminded that the Rowan Ford case is in need of some public defenders just over the county line.
On Wednesday, Dustin Howe was bound over for trial on a charge of third-degree assault with injury. I think they should add a charge for “to his Grandma”. Because the way I see it, even if Grandma is a total looney tune, it doesn’t give you the right to pop her with a pellet rifle. If it did, I’d have relatives shot fulla holes all over the country.
Thanks, Unamused Cat, for hitting this topic in our forums!
29 responses so far ↓
1
Miss. Hill
Jun 13, 2008 at 9:29 am -Yeah me too!
2
thepooh5
Jun 13, 2008 at 9:54 am -WTH? It seems they are ALL abusing grandma. What I can’t get is her own son. Not only did the dad NOT kick his son’s ass for hurting his mamma, but he locked his own mamma out of HER house.
I’d kick them all to the curb. They would not be in my house EVER again. I guess they all were free riding off of the poor woman, plus abusing her.
As sorry as the prick grandson is and his girlfriend and the granddaughter for watching and no doubt laughing about it, I honestly hate the dad more for not stepping up and defending his own mother (crazy or not, and especially if she were “a little off” - you know, he should have defended her just because she’s his mother , but ESPECIALLY because of her mentality, if that is the case), at the time, much less telling investigators, “she was crazy and probably did it to herself to get that little bastard in trouble”. Damn, what an asshat!! DAMN DAMN AND DOUBLE DAMN!!! Can’t that POS son of her’s be charged with something, as well? Surely, if not for failure to protect, how about locking her out of HER house, lying to the cops during an investigation - ANYTHING?!?!?!?!?
3
dammitall
Jun 13, 2008 at 10:32 am -Grammy needs to learn to keep a pot of water boiling on the stove and fling it on the lil shit when he tries stuff like that. Either that, or not visit her kids anymore.
4
Harley_Tech
Jun 13, 2008 at 10:45 am -never mind….
R
5
thepooh5
Jun 13, 2008 at 10:48 am -No she needs to kick them to the curb. It was HER house, not theirs. She needs to not accept visits from the POS. The whole bunch is wwwaaaaaayyyyyyy past sorry if you ask me.
6
SoUncool
Jun 13, 2008 at 10:53 am -Yee-haw! Hey, but I thought hillbillies were raised to respect their elders? Sounds like she’s getting no respect from anyone in that damn house. I’m confused…whose house was she staying in and why didn’t she get the hell out of there??
7
WryBread
Jun 13, 2008 at 10:58 am -Hunting Grandma? No, we hillbillies do not hunt Grandmas. These creeps are from Missouri.
Not that we don’t have plenty of dysfuntional families who put and bail each other out of jail like they’re play a kid’s game. But hunting Grandma is a not part of our culture. There’s more sport in hunting possums or even rocks than your average Granny.
8
SoUncool
Jun 13, 2008 at 11:04 am -My grandad’s family were hillbillies from Tennessee. My boyfriend’s family are hillbillies from the Ozarks in Arkansas and Missouri. Anytime you got “mountain folk”, you got hillbillies. Same as a redneck only they live in a higher elevation.
9
thepooh5
Jun 13, 2008 at 11:06 am -We are raised to respect our elders and do. I guess its like every other social group, don’t lump us all together. I’m a hillbillie and a redneck and live in HEE HAW HELL, but I have morals and values that I think have been demonstrated in my posts. I believe you all know my feelings on abuse, rape, protection of the weak, etc. Can’t help where I was born and I damn well don’t want to move. I’ve been many places and seen a lot of things but I am always glad to get back to my little corner of the world, even if it is Hee Haw Hell.
And you’re right. No one was showing this poor lady any respect. I’m just thankful that she wasn’t seriously hurt. Who would have cared? Not anyone in HER home I would guess, given their actions at the time of the elderly abuse.
10
WryBread
Jun 13, 2008 at 11:15 am -Nah, you’ve got to be from Appalachia to be a hillbilly. Missourians, don’t go co-opting our proud heritage and our fine reputation in the nation! It’s what keeps the creeps from moving here to Appalachia!
And, yes, we do respect our elders, even those who don’t deserve respect much.
11
thepooh5
Jun 13, 2008 at 11:26 am -Do you guys even know what the true definition of a “redneck” is or how it started?
To my knowlege, it was farmers or workers on farms that always did have “red necks” from working out in the fields. Others, who didn’t farm for a living or the richer farm owners labeled them rednecks, reflecting poor farmers who truly did have red necks from busting their asses all day out in the hot fields to make a living and grow food for everyone across the nation.
Rednecks have a bad name now because others of different races have used this term to refer to whites in a derogatory manner about other actions they may have committed. It is the equivilent of the “N” word to blacks, when used in today’s context.
However, I’m redneck and proud of it. My neck is red because I work hard outside and in, for that matter, and because I will get red over abuse or people just thinking they can treat me, my family, or others just any ole way without any consequences.
So just call me the redneck pooh if you wish but I will add this, if we were out together and someone accosted you - you would be glad to have the redneck pooh at your side. I would not abandon you and would fight to the death to protect you or your family.
But truly, how they came to be named rednecks, demonstrates they were hard working folk that just had to grind out their living in the hot sun keeping their necks burnt red all of the time. Really, rednecks are not bad, in fact, they were very hard workers. Its the concept labeled to that name, in modern day that makes being called a redneck a derogotory term.
Its not derogatory to me because I know what it truly means and I do not take offense. However, generalizing all rednecks is like saying all of one kind of any people are bad. Its just not true.
12
thepooh5
Jun 13, 2008 at 11:28 am -Hey, I missed that point too, Wry. Thanks for covering that base for me!
13
nobletrish
Jun 13, 2008 at 12:13 pm -“THEPOOH5″
You sound like someone I would LOVE to have as a friend
From a hard working Jersey Girl.
14
thepooh5
Jun 13, 2008 at 12:51 pm -I would gladly befriend a hard working “yankee” - I mean that in the nicest of ways. I only posted it that way, as to point out, southerners, no matter the color, view northerners as yankees. Yes, some yankees are bad and a lot more are good. This holds true with rednecks and hillbillies and all races and religions.
I just hate generalizing everyone in their respective “groups” because all within any said group has good and bad. There are sorry whites, blacks, mexicans, christians, atheists, yankees, rednecks and hillbillies. There are also wonderful, caring, hardworking people in all those classes listed above.
15
Athena
Jun 13, 2008 at 1:02 pm -The “redneck” story, for those interested in its origin.
I really hope they nail this fucker to the wall, this time. It seems like a clear case of leniency in juvenile cases…Leniency that does a disservice to both the criminal and society at large.
16
LeeMouse
Jun 13, 2008 at 1:02 pm -I wonder if the dad is just the biggest asshole of all time, or if the Grandmother was abusive or something when he was growing up, and that’s why he doesn’t care what happens to her. The crazy doesn’t fall far from the tree, after all. I don’t know…nothing excuses abusing the elderly, of course. But my father was a mean SOB, and I can’t say I’d be all that upset if someone busted a cap in his ass today.
Whatever the case is, this is clearly a family that should never have reproduced, because they are all just caught up in one huge death spiral of dysfunction that I don’t see any future generations fighting their way out of.
17
WryBread
Jun 13, 2008 at 3:13 pm -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillbilly
Here’s the wikipedia article for “hillbilly.”
I wonder why Grandma didn’t leave after the third shot or so. Do think Grandsonny was hiding out behind doors and hopping out to shoot her? This family sounds like a real mess. I hope that some angry relative comes here to defend them. I’d love to hear what defense they offer.
18
dammitall
Jun 13, 2008 at 7:21 pm -Whee, I missed that part! Shit, the hell with the boiling water. Grandma needs to change the locks and invest in a shotgun. It’s not too late for a retroactive abortion.
19
WryBread
Jun 14, 2008 at 8:52 am -Whenever I see that gangsta “stare up my noseholes” defiance thing, I just want to put the heel of my hand against that nose and shove the bastard to the gravel.
20
bogustoo
Jun 14, 2008 at 9:35 am -Wrybread, how about using a high heeled shoe? The heel goes up the nose ALL the way while the soul pressed against it.
21
Ashley22H
Jun 15, 2008 at 1:45 am -Well….I’m born and raised in Southwest Missouri and really proud of it. But, people like these idiots give us all a bad name. In all actuality, anywhere you go now days….there are bound to be these types of people running around.
I’m still really confused as to why Grandma went and bailed him out. There must be more to the story that we all don’t know yet. No matter what the details…. I know my parents taught me that you:
1. Always respect your elders, adults, authority figures.
2. Don’t shoot Grandma with a pellet gun repeatedly.
I swear kids these days……
22
Ashley22H
Jun 15, 2008 at 1:48 am -Well….I’m born and raised in Southwest Missouri and really proud of it. But, people like these idiots give us all a bad name. In all actuality, anywhere you go now days….there are bound to be these types of people running around.
I’m still really confused as to why Grandma went and bailed him out. There must be more to the story that we all don’t know yet. No matter what the details…. I know my parents taught me that you:
1. Always respect your elders, adults, authority figures.
2. Don’t shoot Grandma with a pellet gun repeatedly.
I swear kids these days……
My son is 15 months old and he will learn discipline and respect and I will be the one setting that example for him. It sounds like this kid’s Dad wasn’t a very good example either. Father like Son.
23
MzBehavin
Jun 15, 2008 at 4:11 am -One time when I was 7 years old, I looked at my Grandma and told her she couldn’t spank me cause I was too fast for her. That sweet 78 year old woman snatched me up and whipped my ass before I even registered the idea to run! I loved that woman so much.
I hate when the elderly fall victim to shitheads like this. Her cheese slipped off her cracker when she bailed this little prick out, I guess that’s just a Grandma’s love. If I ever fucked up bad enough to get thrown in jail, my little country bumpkin ass would still be sitting there until I learned my lesson!
24
Ceronius
Jun 16, 2008 at 1:08 pm -Well he looks like a punk ass little bitch and if there is any justice he will go to jail where his ass will get punked like a bitch.
25
dlhowe11
Jul 25, 2008 at 10:24 pm -this is darcy howe.
dustins “younger sister”.
you guys really need to stay the fuck out of my families business.
you don’t know anything that happened that night
except for what the news, and news papers have told you.
i was there, i know exactly what happened.
and you don’t even have half of the story right.
and by the way,
it was my DAD’S HOUSE.
not her’s.
my dad paid the rent.
my dad paid the bills.
she didn’t pay shit.
you guys know nothing.
so quit judging my family based on the news.
thank you [:
26
dlhowe11
Jul 25, 2008 at 10:26 pm -also.
you have no right to put his picture
or his myspace on here.
that is confidental shit.
and it’s against the law [:
27
impqueen
Jul 25, 2008 at 10:27 pm -Hehhhh.. and you’re googling your brother a month later because…?
How bout you tell us how it really went down, then?
28
impqueen
Jul 25, 2008 at 10:28 pm -Wrong. Got it off a public Myspace, so it’s public domain. Sorry. Next time, y’all should make that stuff private and not post pictures to the World Wide Internet, duh.
29
Unamused Cat
Jul 25, 2008 at 10:30 pm -Hey Sis, this is old news. So what’s it like having an idiot for a brother?
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