Gainesville resident being held in Ava after sheriff rams vehicle


TRAVIS HOWARD

DAVID FISHER

Gainesville resident Travis Howard, 39, is being held in the Douglas County Jail in Ava on a $25,000 cash-only bond after being charged with delivery of methamphetamine and resisting arrest by fleeing in connection with a Monday morning incident near Ava School. 

Howard was released from the Missouri Department of Corrections in June. He has 16 prior felony convictions, including multiple drug violations, burglary, tampering with motor vehicle, assault on a law enforcement officer and illegal possession of firearms. He was on probation at the time of the Monday incident.

 

Co-defendant: David Fisher

Ava resident David Fisher, 32, is also charged in connection with the incident. He is being held in the Douglas County Jail on a $5,000 cash-only bond and is charged with possession of methamphetamine.

If either Howard or Fisher do get the money to bond out, the pair would be on house arrest with GPS monitoring supervised by Court Probationary Services, and they would be required to take random drug or alcohol tests.  

 

Spotting Howard

According to a Tuesday morning statement from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announcing the arrests, Sheriff Chris Degase was conducting surveillance at a home southeast of Ava near the Ava School when he spotted a vehicle that has been connected to several burglaries in the area. Howard was reportedly in the driver’s seat. Degase wrote in his report that Howard is a “large scale methamphetamine distributor, a suspect in numerous burglaries and has been in 2 prior pursuits with law enforcement in Douglas County and Ozark County.”

He said Howard is also suspected of stealing a side-by-side UTV that was reportedly recovered in Ozark County.

 

Pinned in

Degase followed Howard’s vehicle, allowing him to drive past the school, where students were being dropped off for the day’s classes. 

After driving past the school, Howard reportedly pulled into the nearby Casey’s store, where Degase and Douglas County Deputies Michael Schupbach and James Nelson attempted to “pin the vehicle in” to avoid a pursuit in the school area. 

But Howard accelerated the car rapidly out of the store’s parking lot and onto Bacorn Street, where deputies were able to pull in front of Howard’s vehicle and block him from continuing forward. 

Howard then reportedly put the vehicle in reverse and began to back up in an attempt to go around the deputies’ vehicles. 

“Degase chose to end the pursuit, to avoid placing the motoring public and the children around the school in harm, by ramming the back of the suspect vehicle, pinning it between the patrol vehicles,” the DCSO statement says.  

Degase had to forcibly remove Howard through the vehicle’s broken driver’s-side window, the statement said. Degase and Howard both sustained minor cuts from shattered glass.

 

Drugs found, four children removed from home

Following the incident, Degase obtained a search warrant for Fisher’s home on South Mansfield Street in Ava. Officers found methamphetamine and marijuana plants that were being illegally grown at the home. 

Four children were removed from the house, along with the drugs and plants. 

 

Assistance from Ava PD and MSHP

Degase said he was thankful for help from Ava Police Lt. David Overcast and Missouri State Highway Patrol officer Charlie Hogue, who assisted in apprehending Howard and Fisher.

“Sheriff Degase was very thankful that the pursuit could be ended quickly to avoid a pursuit in and around the school,” the DCSO post said. 

 

 

A previous pursuit

Howard had engaged Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. Wallace in a previous pursuit on Highway 5 south of Ava. That pursuit was terminated for safety reasons after Howard almost struck a vehicle head-on, the sheriff’s office said.

Degase also commended “the long hours and work of his deputies” in handling the case. “This has been an ongoing investigation from the burglary that occurred on DD Highway in western Douglas County that has resulted in several thousands dollars in stolen property being recovered.

Degase said Monday’s arrests  attest to the commitment by him and his staff “to continue to focus on those selling and distributing illegal substances in Douglas County,” the statement said.

Degase said when the covid-19 pandemic is over, his deputies will be serving search warrants in Douglas County. 

“If you choose to partake in illegal drug trade, you will be seeing the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office soon,” Degase said. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423