Federal prosecution of Jamontez Howse, 22, is being considered after Specialized Investigations Division TITANS detectives Wednesday afternoon arrested the convicted felon on gun, auto theft and drug charges. Howse was free after being given a Community Corrections sentence of four years last September for attempted carjacking and auto theft convictions. Those offenses occurred in May 2020.
Undercover TITANS detectives spotted a stolen 2022 Hyundai Sonata Wednesday at a Brick Church Pike apartment complex and began surveilling it. They saw Howse approach the car and get into the driver’s seat. He was accompanied by Deontay Staten, 19, who got into the passenger seat. The two drove away and were followed. They ultimately returned to the apartment complex where Howse got out and Staten transitioned to the driver’s seat. Detectives moved in and detained Howse. Staten put the stolen Hyundai in motion and struck two police vehicles before he got out and started running. He was apprehended after a brief chase. Staten was carrying a Glock semi-automatic pistol loaded with 27 rounds and equipped with an aftermarket switch that made the gun fully automatic. Inside the car was a second semi-automatic pistol loaded with nine rounds laying on the front passenger seat, along with two digital scales and baggies containing 30 grams of cocaine.
Howse was charged Wednesday with vehicle theft, possession of cocaine for resale, gun possession during the commission of a dangerous felony, unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon, and violation of his Community Corrections probation.
At the time of his arrest Wednesday, Howse was free on $42,000 bond stemming from his July 6, 2022 arrest on charges of felony theft and felony evading arrest. He is accused of stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from the Ulta store in Bellevue.
He was also free on a $30,000 bond stemming from his August 23, 2022 arrest on a felony theft charge. He is accused of clearing the path for his girlfriend to run out of the Gus Meyer store in Green Hills with a purse valued at more than $5,500.
In the May 2020 case for which he was convicted of auto theft and attempted carjacking, Howse was driving a 2018 Cadillac Escalade that had been stolen from a home on Lynnwood Boulevard. An MNPD helicopter spotted the Escalade on Briley Parkway. OnStar then sent a signal to the Escalade causing it to become disabled. It came to a stop on the side of Briley Parkway near Dickerson Pike. Howse bailed from the vehicle and, with pistol in hand, ran down the exit ramp of Briley Parkway. He went up to a car on the ramp and ordered the 41-year-old female driver to “get the f*** out of the car” while trying to open the door. With officers and West Precinct undercover detectives quickly arriving, Howse threw the gun down and was taken into custody.
The pistol Howse had been carrying in the attempted carjacking case was stolen on April 6, 2020 from an unlocked vehicle parked at a home on General Bate Drive.
The Hyundai Sonata Howse and Staten were in Wednesday was stolen on September 30 from an apartment complex on Hamilton Church Road in Antioch.
Howse is being held in the Metro Jail without bond.
Staten is being held in lieu of $134,000 bond on charges of vehicle theft, felony cocaine possession, felony evading arrest, gun possession during the commission of a felony, and aggravated assault on officers. At the time of Staten’s arrest Wednesday, he was free on $14,000 bond stemming from his April 2021 arrest on charges of vehicle theft and felony evading arrest.
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