‘G-Money’ arraigned in Howard murder case
For the first time, family members of Katherine Danielle Howard saw the man accused of shooting her two years ago. Gary Christopher Johnson, 18, a.k.a. “G-Money,” pleaded not guilty in the U.S. District Court in Charlottesville this morning as some of Howard’s family members wept in the courtroom.
Johnson was 16 years old when Howard, 22, was found dead February 22, 2006, on Cadmus Drive in Gordonsville. He was a runaway from New York, and his cousin, Curtis Waldron, Dani’s boyfriend with whom she lived, had taken him in.
Prosecutors say Waldron was a cocaine dealer, and while he and Howard were out of town February 21 to buy a new car, Johnson and another man, Justin Harris, stole approximately 300 grams of cocaine, $34,000 in cash and two guns, and loaded them into Howard’s white minivan.
Howard returned home alone early February 22 and saw her van being driven without her permission. She followed the two men, honking for them to stop. According to the prosecution, that’s when Johnson shot her and left her to die in the street with the engine of her new Saab still running.
Johnson is charged with four felony counts, including possession of a stolen firearm, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession and distribution of cocaine, and use of a firearm while drug trafficking resulting in death.
Originally charged as a juvenile, Johnson will face trial as an adult. His attorney, Richard Davis, did not seek bond.
Howard’s family was almost elated on March 13 when Johnson’s arrest was announced, more than two years after her death. But today, seeing the man accused of killing her, “It was a shock,” says her brother, Michael Howard.
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