Leesburg police found a battery suspect they had been seeking hiding in a young lady’s bedroom closet.
The police received a tip Saturday morning that 28-year-old Shymiere Montese Howell was at a residence located in the 100 block of South East Street in Leesburg.
When an officer made contact with the homeowner, he was told by the resident that his daughter had been seeing Howell and had been sneaking him into the house. The officer noted in his report that the window into the daughter’s bedroom was ajar.
The resident told the officer that he thought a man was in her room and gave him access to the house. When the officer made contact with the daughter, she said she was alone. While talking to the officer she was standing in front of a small closet filled with blankets and clothing. When the girl stepped aside the officer could see a man’s head with a tattoo between his eyes. The officer recognized Howell and placed him under arrest.
When the officer searched Howell he recovered a tan bag which contained 1.6 grams of cocaine and 31.8 grams of marijuana and baggies used to bag drugs.
Howell was charged with the possession of cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia as well as battery. He was transported to the Lake County Jail where bond was set at $6,000.
Howell has a long history of arrests. The SWAT team took him into custody on New Year’s Day in 2020 on multiple charges including attempted first-degree homicide. He was arrested this past August after attempting to pass fake movie money at a Leesburg gas station.
