Outlaw Country Artist Randy Howard Dies in Shootout w/ Bounty Hunter
Outlaw Country Artist Randy Howard, a major label recording artist best known for his humorous and explicit anthem “All American Redneck,” was shot and killed by a bounty hunter in his home in Lynchburg, Tennessee on Tuesday night (6-9), and some are wondering why the songwriter had to die over a bench warrant.
A bounty hunter working for A Plus Bail Bonding in Dunlap, TN was serving a warrant from Marion, County, TN when a gun fight ensued inside Randy Howard’s house on Griffin Rd in Lynchburg. The bounty hunter entered the premises, and when he was met with gun shots, he returned fire, killing Howard in what he claims as self-defense. The bounty hunter was also seriously injured in the incident, and was transported to Erlanger Hospital where surgery was performed. The bounty hunter is expected to recover.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesman Josh DeVine said the warrant on Randy Howard stemmed from charges of fourth-offense DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm while intoxicated and driving on a revoked license. Apparently Howard had recently been in jail, and had failed to appear for a recent court date, resulting in the warrant.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations is now investigating the incident to see if the bounty hunter was in the right to enter Randy Howard’s home. As WSMV in Nashville points out, the bounty hunter did have a warrant, but Howard was inside his home where he did have a right to defend himself. A neighbor, Terry Dotson said about Randy Howard, “He said he wasn’t going back to jail. That’s what he told me.”
Randy Howard released two major label records, All American Redneck for Warner Bros. in 1983, and the self-titled Randy Howard for Atlantic in 1988. He released seven records overall, including two titles for for Utopian Records, including his debut Now and Then in 1976. It included the protest song, “God Don’t Live in Nashville” and Howard was considered to be a pioneer of the Outlaw country movement. “All American Redneck” became his signature song and an underground hit.
As a performer, Howard shared the stage with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels, Hank Williams Jr., and many others. Later in life he might have been best known for penning songs for Hank Williams III, including the 3rd generation country star’s “I Don’t Know” off of his debut album Risin’ Outlaw, and “My Drinking Problem” from Hank3’s opus Straight to Hell. Howard also toured with Hank3 as an opener early in Hank3’s career.
Randy Howard was born and raised in Macon, GA, and had lived in Lynchburg for 25 years. He was 65-years-old.
More information on this story as it becomes available.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:03 am
Double yew tee eff???
But bounty hunters have fewer constraints than LEOs, don’t they? Maybe that varies state-to-state, but signing that bail paperwork means signing away some rights.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:08 am
I can’t really judge this story, I wasn’t in the house and don’t know what happened. And George Lucas will probably just edit it anyway.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:18 am
but Howard shot first!
June 12, 2015 @ 12:37 pm
Hey fuzzy how about the bounty hunter breaks in your house.I mean all we have is the bounty hunter’s story.i don’t care who comes in your house if your not the police you DESERVE TO BE SHOT.Hopefully this “bounty hunter ” will get what he deserves.
June 12, 2015 @ 4:45 pm
You may want to re-read the 2 comments above yours. Keep an eye out for the obvious Star Wars reference in Fuzzy’s comment.
Searching google for “Han shot first” may help you to clear up the confusion.
June 12, 2015 @ 5:35 pm
Now i see what you mean .I apologize for that .
January 17, 2022 @ 2:26 pm
When someone enters your home, especially someone you don’t know and is armed on top of that … just sayin’.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:10 am
Had the privilege of sharing a stage with him a few years back at a songwriter showcase he put on in Perry, GA. Got to stand outside and have a beer and a smoke with him and talk music. He was a class act and as nice a guy as I’ve met in music. This is definitely a sad story. Hate to see such a talent and all-around good guy go out like that. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
January 5, 2023 @ 8:57 pm
Did he call out bounty hunter and was he invited in the house where the owner lived.. Is it against the law for him not to protect himself. Sweater he had all of that on his record..not that I’ve ever been to jail I’m with him if he said “I don’t want to go back to jail” everything posted is one side but the action of the bounty hunter .. No one will ever know the truth..Sad RIP
JUST SAYIN’
I agree with Tom Simmons
June 11, 2015 @ 7:19 am
“the warrant on Randy Howard stemmed from charges of fourth-offense DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm while intoxicated and driving on a revoked license”
Sad story. Also sad his lifestyle led to the event that took his life. Prayers to his family and friends.
June 11, 2015 @ 9:44 am
which means he could have killed my family or yours 4x. Sorry, but we’re safer now without him.
June 11, 2015 @ 11:25 am
Too bad the bounty hunter did not die too. We’d be safer without him too. He is too much of a coward to be named in the media. Not a man.
June 11, 2015 @ 11:32 am
Would you have said the same thing if he were a four-time offender of texting while driving?
June 11, 2015 @ 11:35 am
Maybe.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:22 am
Man, epic way to go for an outlaw singer and actual outlaw. RIP
June 11, 2015 @ 7:38 am
I always liked his music. Sad to see him go, but that sure is an outlaw way to die…
June 11, 2015 @ 7:52 am
Well, surely a better ending to the story than if on his fifth DUI he killed an innocent person. Sorry, Randy, but this news didn’t ruin my breakfast.
June 11, 2015 @ 8:42 am
U should not have shared those thoughts. Have a little compassion.
June 11, 2015 @ 12:18 pm
Why? He had proven a man who couldn’t control himself and then while he had a right to protect himself in his home, he shot first! He also had 4 DUIs and was a threat to the public because he would’ve gotten a 5th one.
June 11, 2015 @ 6:26 pm
does that deserve the death penalty? think before you speak.
June 11, 2015 @ 8:09 pm
He didn’t get a death penalty. He shot out of his house (according to reports) and got fired back on which could both be seen as “Self-defense” at that point.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:41 pm
George jones proved himself a man who couldn’t control himself many times in the eighties and nineties, but he was able to rehabilitate. Imagine if he was killed before he was able to rehabilitate himself?
June 19, 2015 @ 11:40 am
The man is dead. My god.
June 11, 2015 @ 7:55 am
Met Randy when I first moved to Macon in 1983. He was playing at one of the clubs there. I got to know him a little bit and he was the first I ever gave a CD to, of my music. Said he liked it and wished me well. RIP Randy..
June 11, 2015 @ 8:19 am
Question: “some are wondering why the songwriter had to die over a bench warrant.”
Answer: “The bounty hunter entered the premises, and when he was met with gun shots, he returned fire, killing Howard in what he claims as self-defense. The bounty hunter was also seriously injured in the incident, and was transported to Erlanger Hospital where surgery was performed. The bounty hunter is expected to recover.”
No one is above the law. For anyone who wants to say it’s ridiculous that a bounty hunter was serving a warrant, sorry, but this is how warrants are sometimes served here in Tennessee. Your state’s laws regarding wether or not bounty hunters can serve warrants are irrelevant. This man was acting as a Law Officer and he was fired upon first! Randy deciding it best to fire a weapon and attempt to murder a Law Officer who had a legal warrant signed by a judge over a failure to appear charge is just dumb! It is a sad situation and I won’t argue that. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. But in the end, he got exactly what he asked for!
June 11, 2015 @ 8:38 am
Hey Doug,
I think that’s a fair point. The reason I mentioned “some are wondering why the songwriter had to die over a bench warrant” is because WSMV in Nashville openly questioned this situation, and apparently they’ve been investigating the legalities of bounty hunters in Tennessee for a while. As the WSMV report says, “Earlier this year, the Channel 4 I-Team found several cases of bounty hunters overstepping their bounds. While many states require bondsman to have licenses, Tennessee does not.” Whether WSMV is in the right to question the actions of the bounty hunter, I guess we will find out in the future. There is an open investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into this matter, so it may not be open and shut that the bounty hunter was in the right, but we also can’t assume he’s in the wrong..
In the end though, this was a guy who was a non violent offender with DUI and possession charges. Yes, I know people can get killed by drunk drivers, and I’ve got a scar on my chin that attests how I had to be extricated out of a vehicle by the jaws of life after being hit by a drunk driver myself. But we have a man dead and a bounty hunter seriously wounded, so I think we can all agree the system did not work in this case. Nobody won.
June 11, 2015 @ 10:52 pm
He was a non-violent offender, trig, until he shot someone.
I admittedly am getting the details along with everyone else, but it appears that he fired first. Shooting someone isn’t exactly a non-violent offense.
Of course if it comes out that the bounty hunter was sneaking around and looking like a home invader, that’s a whole different story.
June 12, 2015 @ 8:40 am
I understand, but it’s hard to know where to put the cart, and where to put the horse in this story. If an armed man comes into my house, I’m not going to wait for him to shoot first. Now I understand the circumstances are different here, and being on bond, Randy had signed away his rights, including to be secure in his own home. But I think we still have a lot of questions to answer. If you know a fugitive is in their own home, why don’t you send more than one individual? Did the bounty hunter announce his presence and follow all proper procedues? Why don’t you get the police or sheriff involved? Since there was only one individual, who is there to corroborate the bounty hunter’s story? Why don’t you reach out to friends and family to coax him out if you’re afraid he may react violently? He didn’t need to die, and the bounty hunter didn’t need to be hospitalized over a bench warrant. Not saying Randy Howard is not at fault, but ideally such senseless violence could be avoided attempting to gain custody of what until that point had been a non-violent offender.
June 12, 2015 @ 3:53 pm
Trigger maybe this experience might force the Tennessee legal system to reconsider their position on what can be a potentially dangerous situation. The average police officer would have handled this situation so much better
June 12, 2015 @ 1:04 pm
So you mean to tell me the “bounty hunter ” couldn’t have gotten him maybe in the daylight.Maybe the scum bounty hunter is a coward and to bad he couldn’t have gotten killed
June 12, 2015 @ 1:15 pm
Wow! A scumbag crook who is a semi famous country singer/songwriter who breaks his bail commitment gets killed and a bounty hunter WHO HAS THE LAWFUL AUTHORITY to serve a warrant and haul his ass in gets shot DOING HIS JOB LEGALLY and you want him dead just because this guy was “famous”! This is what’s wrong with America! No respect for the law!
June 12, 2015 @ 5:57 pm
LOL doug if you were a student of history you would know thats how cowards act.Heres a little history lesson for you the federal goverment had more than one chance to arrest david koresh in the town of waco.But yet the “law” took upon themselves to kill everyone they could in the branch davidian compound.Why don’t you do a wiki search on the branch davidian compound in waco and also ruby ridge .You may get an education about how the “law” works.Thats NO different from the cop shooting the fleeing man in the back in SC.There was also a case here in ga were 2 bail bondsmen from tn were arrested for kidnapping.So doug the answer to your question If thats the law in Tn then you have some messed up laws and still my opinion the bounty hunter is still scum
June 12, 2015 @ 11:34 pm
Paul, I really doubt seriously you know as much about Waco as I do. Google a guy named Wallace Kennett. He and I played in a band together in El Paso, TX for about 4 years and were roommates for about a year. I know about Waco and I can tell you, what YOU THINK you know is only the tip of the iceberg. Have a nice night! http://culteducation.com/group/1220-waco-davidians/24276-alleged-gunmakers-busted.html
June 14, 2015 @ 5:50 am
Doug i owe you an apology on that one then.That being said i am still curious as to why you would side with the bounty hunter who used the same exact tactics as used by the government at waco
June 13, 2015 @ 3:51 am
Whats wrong is how easy and acceptable it is for authority figures to kill the accused. He was out on bond, he didn’t have a trial, he wasn’t found guilty by a jury. 369 people killed by police in the last 120 days. People saying they deserve it cause they were accused. Keep puttin all that blind faith in these authority figures and see where we wind up.
If they knew he was dangerous why go alone? Said he was known to carry a gun, where is the common sense?
You creep around my house and see what happens. A bounty hunter not even real police.
June 15, 2015 @ 3:52 pm
“If they knew he was dangerous why go alone?”
Maybe they didn’t know he was dangerous.
“Said he was known to carry a gun, where is the common sense?”
I thought everyone in Texas is known to carry a gun. They carry guns into the State Capitol.
I guess bail bondsmen work on a low profit margin. They don’t generally bring a whole army to drag someone in.
June 13, 2015 @ 11:20 am
A couple years ago there was a story about bounty hunters invading a gym steam room and terrifying uninvolved patrons in their pursuit of someone. I posted heavily on that story at the time. The uninvolved patrons should have intervened and sought revenge for their inconvenience. I never tolerate being the tiniest bit inconvenienced by anyone else’s concerns unless I am paid upfront and in cash for my courtesy. Since this never happens, I usually have to exact my price afterwards, together with interest and penalties. Lesson: Never let someone get away with discourteous behavior. If the richest, most powerful person on earth would not let it go, no one else should either. If everyone just acted this way, even minor, trivial slights would escalate and be promptly and decisively resolved.
June 15, 2015 @ 3:56 pm
Uh, if everybody acted that way, society would grind to a halt.
October 6, 2022 @ 12:06 am
“Never let someone get away with discourteous behavior”. The most insecure and petty comment/instruction, which leaves zero room for grace and mercy.
January 17, 2022 @ 2:36 pm
It’s all in what transpired between the two in the beginning. What did Howard know?
June 13, 2015 @ 11:37 am
No, he was not a “law officer”. Law officers are employed by governmental subdivisions, are members of an organized force, and have a hierachical command structure headed by a government official. Your heroes do not have any of these attributes. What was the bounty hunter’s rank? What agency of government is he employed by? Who is his commanding officer and what is his rank? C’mon, lets see how smart you are.
June 13, 2015 @ 11:46 am
You are absolutely right Buggery. No police, have we given up so much freedom that we have to answer to everyone now. I saw the interview with the sheriff in that county he said the man USED to be a deputy, Did he get fired? did he quit? Never said. He should get a pass just cause this guy had a lil trouble with the law, Hell who hasnt. If I go take a 2 week course can I start killin folk?
June 13, 2015 @ 11:42 am
Would you agree that if a bounty hunter mistakenly entered someone’s home, he would get “exactly what he deserved” if that person took him out?
June 11, 2015 @ 8:38 am
possession of a firearm while intoxicated, oh Hell, been there.
June 11, 2015 @ 8:46 am
If you hit someone, expect to get hit back. If you shoot someone….expect to be shot.
June 11, 2015 @ 8:55 am
I haven’t commented before on this, but
Far too many people have guns down there in your country. People that don’t need them.
I guess you could try to figure this out from a hundred angles, and what is and isn’t right or wrong, or legal or not”¦ but
This is just like the singer shot outside the Nashville bar over cigarettes. If the bar owner didn’t have a hand gun, he wouldn’t be doing life, and the singer would be getting up right now, to have a cup of coffee.
Probably more guns per capita in America than there are in Iraq, a war zone.
June 11, 2015 @ 9:20 am
‘People that don’t need them’
It’s great that we have you to tell people what they need!
‘Probably more guns per capita than there are in Iraq’
This is ridiculous. Crime rates nationally are at decades low while gun ownership has increased. And I’m not some gun guy or something, in fact I have never owned or even handled a gun but this kind of analysis is so lacking in fact that it can’t be allowed to go unchallenged.
June 11, 2015 @ 1:15 pm
Scotty, actually gun ownership is way down, a recent poll found that 22 percent of Americans personally own a firearm, down from a high of 31 percent in 1985. Gun sales are up only because people who already own guns buy more guns. So there is no correlation between crime rates and gun ownership. Sorry.
June 11, 2015 @ 1:32 pm
Fine. More guns in circulation and less crime. No matter how you spin it the tired canard that more guns lead to more crime is just not true. Guns in criminals hands may lead to more crime and that is why it is ALREADY illegal.
And my comment was directly related to the comparison of Iraq to the U.S. and the veiled claim that the U.S. is some kind of war zone which is all kinds of stupid. Sorry.
June 12, 2015 @ 8:19 am
Scotty J, my apologies. It was actually the comment by John Conquest that I was referring to and not your comment. In my haste, I made a mistake, and I have no problem owning it. It is too late to modify my comment.
June 12, 2015 @ 8:27 am
No problem, apology accepted we’ve all been guilty of that at some time in comments sections.
June 12, 2015 @ 12:39 pm
Oh please this guy is so right.Wayne Mills would still be alive if that guy did not have a gun. All of this nonsensical killing is just ridiculous.Why in the world would you go inside of a man’s house, a self proclaimed outlaw. You are looking to me killed. I am NOT saying I take sides with Howard. We are definitely going to need more information
January 17, 2022 @ 2:59 pm
Where are crime rates low? Almost everywhere in this country they are breaking records. Where do you get your news.
June 11, 2015 @ 11:52 am
I really don’t think it’s your business to tell people what they need and don’t need. And there are people who can’t be trusted with guns, certainly, but if that’s the case they need to be in prison, and that’s what you should be advocating for, not more bullshit gun laws that disarm people who haven’t done anything to merit it.
June 11, 2015 @ 10:58 pm
Truth
January 17, 2022 @ 3:34 pm
Where are crime rates low, almost every city in the US, particularly Democrat controlled cities, crime rates are setting record highs.
June 11, 2015 @ 11:02 pm
Yeah Mark, it would have been way better if they’d beaten on one another with hammers.
June 12, 2015 @ 7:11 am
Wow, Mark, spoken like a true yankee. I am sorry that in your United States your family did not teach you about firearms and firearm responsibility. I would say that you don’t know jack about Iraq because you have not been there, but great assumption. Just like in Iraq, we NEED firearms because we have the God given and constitution guaranteed right to life. It is my right to be able to protect myself from anyone trying to cause me harm. From what little I have gathered, I don’t think that Mr. Howard was in the wrong. As for the potential of him killing someone while driving drunk…he had never killed anyone. We are all at risk everyday by being on our phones or not paying attention while driving; I am sure you feel that you don’t deserve the death penalty for texting or talking while driving. Talking w/o being hands free has been shown to be as dangers as DUI and texting is more dangerous than DUI.
First of all, a bounty hunter is not a police officer. He may have an arrest warrant, but that absolutely does not give him the right to enter personally owned property without permission. He had to be invited in the home in order to have the right to be in there. Had it been me with the warrant and some thug with a fake badge kicked in my door, I would have killed him where he stood, and I would have been protected by the Castle Doctrine. Period.
Scotty, please cite your source rather than blab your BS. Here is a link to a really good article that sources multiple polls. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/03/12/is-gun-ownership-really-down-in-america.html
The reason that perceived gun ownership is down is because people do not want to tell anyone, especially pollsters about their guns, as it is none of their business. If I was ever asked, I would tell them to F off, and all of the guys that I know who share a firearms passion like I do would do the same. I spent 2 years lobbying for gun ownership rights on The Hill as well as in many statehouses, so my sample size is more than that of the local shooting range. We don’t trust the government. Every other statistic has increased. The number or permits issued, the number of NICS checks conducted, the overall number of firearms in the US. the number of gun manufacturers, the number of ammo manufacturers, the number of silencer manufacturers, and on and on. Having been in the business after Obama was elected and after New Town, I can tell you about how there were not enough guns and gun parts on any store shelf to match the demand. I sold all of my inventory in a week after New Town and could not get stock for months on end after.
June 12, 2015 @ 8:08 am
Given the strong opinions on the subject, I appreciate the overall politeness of the people that disagree with me on this, thanks folks.
June 12, 2015 @ 8:09 am
Excuse me. What did I say that disagrees with anything you just said. I was responding to the comments of Mark f and John Conquest who if you read their comments actually DO disagree with you. Is this how you did your lobbying by making snarky comments about people that agree with you?
June 12, 2015 @ 8:26 am
Folks, let’s all appreciate that we are not going to solve the gun debate in this particular comment thread. I understand that there is a gun rights / self defense quotient to this story, but let’s try to keep it somewhat on the topic of the death of this country artist. A little back and forth is fine, but I don’t want to see this descend into a political argument. Thanks.
June 12, 2015 @ 1:02 pm
Hey One Time, without realizing it, you are making an argument for us gun hating people. You argue that Howard have a right to defend himself with his gun, yet sadly, he’s the one that is dead. If he didn’t have a gun, that imbecilic bounty hunter would not have had a self defense argument.
June 12, 2015 @ 1:06 pm
Wow, Mark, spoken like a true yankee. I am sorry that in your United States your family did not teach you about firearms and firearm responsibility.
That shit gets tiresome sometimes.
June 12, 2015 @ 2:30 pm
Tennessee Code Annotate Section 40-11-133(a) authorizes a bounty hunter to apprehend a person for whom a warrant has been issued at any place in or out of the state of Tn.
The Tn AG rendered an opinion in 2001 that such statute necessarily includes breaking and entering into the home of the person for whom the warrant has been issued.
I am not at my law office now, so I don’t know whether the Tn AG has withdrawn its earlier opinion or, more importantly, whether any Tn case law interpreting 40-11-133(a) has been handed down.
I don’t know where in Tennessee Code Annotated the Castle Doctrine is enshrined. It applies in my home, though, in spite of the fact that my wife won’t let me display my “Come Back with a Warrant” welcome mat.
On a related matter, even though you didn’t raise the issue, I don’t believe that Tn law prohibits a bounty hunter who has a handgun carry permit from carrying it on apprehensions.
June 13, 2015 @ 11:23 am
Do you know what is happening to that bar tender in prison? “..and we danced, round and round we danced…” 🙂
February 14, 2016 @ 5:30 pm
Come and take them if you don’t think we should have them. You’ll get a warm welcome.
January 17, 2022 @ 6:39 pm
Too many people have guns? The government is allowing anyone and everyone to enter the country, just the law of averages says that some have to be criminals, terrorists or just bad guys. Many jurisdictions are not detaining those committing violent crimes, some not even prosecuting them. The average response time for law enforcement in this country is 10 to 12.5 minutes (2017 stats before defund the police and major lay offs, firings and early retirements). Will you have that much time or will you need to defend yourself?
June 11, 2015 @ 8:59 am
I absolutely agree, nobody won with this situation! TBI will definitely do an investigation, same thing any department would do with an officer involved shooting. Non violent warrants are some of the most dangerous to serve to be honest. You go into a warrant with a violent offender ready for a fight! You prepare for it. Something like a simple failure to appear, you might go thinking the person will argue with you and that’s as far they are going to go. So you don’t have your guard up. Then something like this happens.
I gave up a 16 year career as a police officer because our hands are so tied. I was tired of seeing officers all over the country being thrown under the bus by people who are supposed to back you up. Departments are so worried about political correctness these days, they would rather trade your life as an officer than have to deal with a firestorm from the media and all of the “human rights” race baiters just because you were doing your job. All I asked for when my shift started was to go home to my wife at the end of it. I would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
June 12, 2015 @ 1:31 pm
I believe if an officer fires his gun at someone coming at him, I do not automatically see him or her in a bad light. When they shoot someone dead in the back and then try to cover up their crimes, that’s different.
June 11, 2015 @ 9:12 am
John Olivers Last Week Tonight just covered bounty hunters and how insane the practice really is.
June 11, 2015 @ 9:24 am
Exactly what I was going to post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS5mwymTIJU
It might be NSFW due to language, but the reality is that the bail/bounty hunter system in parts of our country is pretty messed up.
That said, RIP Randy Howard.
June 11, 2015 @ 5:19 pm
The laws regarding bondsmen are very old and haven’t been revised in decades, some even since the 1800’s.
June 11, 2015 @ 9:18 am
RIP Randy Howard. In spite of the man’s obvious flaws, I gotta say that this guy’s outlaw persona is authentic. And unfortunately he is right that God don’t live in Nashville. Because if He did I don’t think He would have given us Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, and Sam Hunt.
June 11, 2015 @ 11:04 am
OMG TAKE THIS DOWN YOU HACK AND THINK OF THE FAMILY!!!
June 11, 2015 @ 11:06 am
Too soon? 😉
June 11, 2015 @ 2:32 pm
Never too soon for click bait and tabloidism!
😉
June 13, 2015 @ 10:56 am
Take what down? Could you be specific, for a change? The article? A comment? What? WHAT?
June 14, 2015 @ 5:32 am
Lol.
June 11, 2015 @ 11:18 am
What Doug keeps leaving out is the main question. Was this guy just sneaking around on his property in plain clothes looking like a criminal looking to break into Randy’s house after watching to many wanna be bounty hunter Tv shows since no license is required to be a BH in TN
Or was this guy saying out loud I’m a bounty hunter entering your property to serve you warrant. And that can be the difference of life and death and will be a main point in this case.
If a real cop would have pulled up and served the warrant in the day time it would probably would have been a much better outcome.
June 11, 2015 @ 2:01 pm
No shit. I’m guessing the shooting was a response to a door suddenly getting kicked in or something. Not, “knock knock. Friendly neighborhood bounty hunter, may I come in?”
I’m having a hard time coming up with anyone whose word I give less credence to than a bounty hunter.
June 12, 2015 @ 8:16 am
A tow truck driver.
June 11, 2015 @ 4:01 pm
‘Zactly what I was thinkin’~ was this a “surprise party” gone wrong, or was it a straight up “knockt-knock, bench warrant…” ?
And if the late Mr. Howard had been arrested previously as armed and intoxicated, might that be a factor in this situation~ a repaet, like the DUI’s~?
Just wondwring~
In EITHER case, sad news all around.
g
June 12, 2015 @ 1:18 pm
Hey, Hank 3 is in the house!!!. But I hear you Number 3. Your friend would have had a good defense if he had survived. Sadly this guy is about to get away with a senseless murder.
June 12, 2015 @ 1:50 pm
Yeap, that’s the million dollar question Hank III!!! I am making the assumption he announced his presence and intentions. I really doubt he was sneaking around and looking like a criminal going to serve a failure to appear warrant to a non violent offender. My guess, just a guess, is Randy knew he had violated his bail conditions and knew someone would be coming for him. He probably didn’t want to go to jail, so he decided to fight back, which is dumb. People get REAL desperate when they know they are about to go to the big house for a long time.
June 12, 2015 @ 3:31 pm
Nothing dumb about it. It takes very little time watching the world through a 2 inch slot to know you ain’t gonna willingly do it for a long stretch of time if you can avoid it – especially if you’re an alcoholic. I know. But I quit just before reaching the point of getting myself a long time in there. Quitting ain’t for everybody though, and if I was a drunk in my 60s and knew they were coming to put me in a cage…fuck ’em. I’d be out. It’s just too bad he couldn’t have taken the bounty hunter with him.
June 12, 2015 @ 4:24 pm
Too cold Sam, too cold. Suicide by cop was my biggest fear.
June 13, 2015 @ 11:47 am
But if TN does not license bounty hunters, he would not have any valid credentials to display, would he now?
June 11, 2015 @ 1:00 pm
Everyone keeps saying Randy shot first..
How do they know that….Because the bounty hunter said it….He could be covering his ass.
June 12, 2015 @ 12:16 pm
Except for that makes no sense at all. The bondsman/bounty hunter doesn’t get paid if the subject of the warrant is dead. It’s in his best interest to have the whole thing go as peacefully as possible.
June 11, 2015 @ 2:13 pm
These fuckin bounty hunters need to get a grip on life…. someone pulls out a gun, CALL THE FUCKING POLICE!!!!!.. get a grip
June 11, 2015 @ 3:39 pm
Rest in peace man! Can’t say I know the name or knew him.
Didn’t it say Lynchburg? Must be traveling far to get alcohol as its a dry county. Hence maybe driving to get it or get more.
June 11, 2015 @ 5:21 pm
Sending a bounty hunter instead of police to enforce a warrant? What type of unprofessional bullshit is this?
Does this part of Tennessee not have any cops?
June 11, 2015 @ 5:40 pm
From what I understand, if a person breaks the law and the court orders that person brought in, that person cannot hide with immunity from the law in their own or anyone else’s home.
June 11, 2015 @ 5:54 pm
His friend said Randy wasn’t going back to jail…. Maybe he shot to start a shootout and get killed, maybe he had an “I’ll fight until death” attitude. I don’t know, just thinking out loud.
Sure as hell is we needed his music and his authencity in country music today. Still has his music…
June 11, 2015 @ 7:00 pm
Interesting… a possible deliberate suicide when a year in jail would’ve afforded free rehab. Hmmm. Sounds like all those drugs and drink might’ve caused this man to become severely despondent. Fans wouldn’t want to believe that. They like to think that the performer they see is the total real person. I have a hunch it’s far more complicated than the obvious smiling man with a guitar.
June 11, 2015 @ 9:11 pm
Wow I’m a fan of his music sad to hear that he went out that way. I hope justice is served and the truth is reveled as time passes, I’m not making any judgements at this point just very bummed to hear of a musician whose music I appriciated very much is gone. Thanks Trig for reporting or else I would have no idea
June 11, 2015 @ 10:48 pm
Bounty hunters are not officers of the law. They are the lowest of the low scum of the earth.
June 12, 2015 @ 2:18 am
Beyond sad Tragic Question Did this Bounty Hunter Declare who he was and why he was there first did he Knock first. Otherwise it reads that this BH entered and Mr Howard thought he was a Burglar and defended himself. These Bounty Hunters Are an Bunch of Losers . Being in the Correction side of things in the pass Most served Warrants that expired Go in Heavy when it should be Law enforcement. This To me could have been avoided but This is the outcome I hope their satisfied now their warrant was served
June 12, 2015 @ 10:37 am
The primary issue is what rights Tn laws and bail-bond agreements provide when an accused fails to appear, thereby causing the bonding company to forfeit the bail it has agreed to pay if the perp no-shows.
If that happens, the bail-bonding company, which made the critical mistake of believing the perp when he represented that he would appear for court hearings, employs a bounty hunter to apprehend the no-show perp.
The bonding company has to pay the bounty-hunter a good premium for apprehending the no-show perp (or accused), but, when an accused fails to show (as he promised he would do), the bail-bonding company is trying to cut its losses.
All the accused has to do is show up for his hearings.
As with most things in life, complying with the law voluntarily is easier than doing so involuntarily.
I liked Randy Howard and, as someone in recovery, I feel badly that his chronic alcoholism caused so much grief.
It’s usually the case, unfortunately.
I wish his family well.
June 12, 2015 @ 12:04 pm
Love how nowadays everyone thinks that a DUI automatically makes you a threat to society.
For all we know, he pissed off the local cops and he was nailed driving home on a back country dirt road at 20mph. And of course he kept doing it since he didn’t give a damn and wasn’t hurting anyone.
June 12, 2015 @ 12:06 pm
So sad. I hate to hear this. I knew Randy back in our younger years in Macon. Randy was a talent but just never could keep straight enough to really go all the way. But I agree with Adrian that the country gods do not only reside in Nashville. If you were to ask Jason Aldean or any of the many current popular country stars from the Middle Georgia area, either they or their parents were influenced in some way by Randy Howard. Rest well.
June 13, 2015 @ 11:12 am
Does it not seem strange if he was so dangerous one guy goes? No back up. Ive had trouble with the law and I know all of them aint heroes. This was a bounty hunter not even real police. Who does he answer to? I would imagine if I were to try to get an armed and dangerous man by myself I would be lookin to get the drop on him. Be sneakin around. On bail or not sneak around my house or property wont be pretty for one of us. Sad thing only one left to tell the tale now so you know whos fault it will be.
June 13, 2015 @ 12:42 pm
Randy had a warrant, the Bail guy tried to serve him, Randy didn’t want to go to jail. He was so much of a badass “outlaw” he lost a gunfight that he started! Wow, what a real badass!!! If you people want to defend a common criminal who had such little regard for life, that he was willing to kill a man to avoid jail time because HE screwed up, you got problems. The bail guy was just trying to take Randy back to jail, not kill him. Pull your heads out of your 4th point of contact!
June 13, 2015 @ 1:05 pm
Did you watch the video did you read the story? The guy came after dark slippin round. Randy had lived in the same place for 25 years, not like they didnt know where he was gonna be. It was his 4th DWI but in how many years who knows not like he gottem all that week. He had a gun while intoxicated didnt use it then that tells me he wasnt just out to shoot someone, and drug paraphernalia not drugs mind you maybe a weed pipe who knows. The state does not even make a Bounty Hunter be certified with them. Hell I could go serve warrants. The BH was former Deputy why push a man in a corner. Come back in the light o day with Help announce yourself and I bet we would not be talking now.
January 17, 2022 @ 3:41 pm
Where are crime rates low, almost every city in the US, particularly Democrat controlled cities, crime rates are setting record highs.
May 5, 2024 @ 11:37 am
Bounty hunters are above the law ,they can get by with just kicking in your door shoot ya that’s it,Police has rules they have to go by but Bounty Hunters dont at least here in Missouri, Talked to one years ago came to my house looking for a lady ,was talking to him and he was telling wife and i all about being a Bounty Hunter ,he was one that went after people on the run ,ones that on Goverment after ,police they have there info ,pic and gun no Rules.Its Wrong No one should be above the law other than President because of him having to protect our country ,Even one in office that dont protect our country ,but next President will