Ruby Howell pulled a gun on a Black couple trying to picnic in Mississippi. Now, the 70-year-old has been found guilty but she won’t be jailed.
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Clarion Ledger reports she “was found guilty Tuesday in Oktibbeha (awk-TIB’-ih-hah) County Justice Court of threatening exhibition of a weapon. She was fined $250 and ordered to pay $182.50 in court fees. Howell will not be jailed.”
It’s a disgustingly weak punishment for the woman who could have killed the couple.
See the smirk on her face in the mugshot below:
In case you missed it, in a now-viral video, Howell is seen approaching Jessica Richardson, her husband Franklin and their dog while brandishing a gun and demanding that they leave. The Richardsons were having a picnic on KOA Kampgrounds.
“This lady just literally pulled a gun because we’re out here and didn’t have reservations for a lake that we didn’t even know we needed to have reservations for,” Richardson can be heard saying as the video begins.
As Howell stood there clutching her pistol, Richardson tried to tell her that there was a misunderstanding.
“We didn’t know, the only thing you had to do was tell us to leave,” Richardson said. “We would have left. You did not have to pull a gun.
“Well, I’m just telling you, you need to leave because it’s under private ownership,” Howell replied after tucking the gun into her shorts.
The Richardsons would later learn from Howell’s husband that they did not need a reservation to access the lake. Kampgrounds of America (KOA), who employed Howell and ran the campground near the lake, fired Howell after massive backlash. KOA spokesman Mike Gast also released a statement condemning Howell for brandishing a weapon saying KOA “does not condone the use of a firearm in any manner on our properties or those owned and operated by our franchisees.”
Many social media users were calling for Howell’s arrest. The police explained to NewsOne, “We are waiting on that to happen. They’ve indicated they’d like to speak with an attorney first, so we’re sorta waiting on that to happen. And at that point, our intentions would be [to] investigate this thing fully for any potential criminal charges that could come out of it.”
Although Mississippi is an open-carry state, it is illegal for someone to brandish their weapon in a “rude, angry or threatening manner in the presence of three or more persons.” That is according to Mississippi state law, which also states that a guilty party can face a $500 fine, three months in jail, or both with prosecutors not having to prove that the weapon was “charged, loaded or in a condition to be discharged.”
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