1988

July 20, 1988
Gunfire @ 4330 Richmond

DOB - 9/18/1963, Age 24
Badge – 2818
Class #111
Final Resting Place –    Calvary Hill, Houston TX    

Police Officer Elston M. Howard lost his life in the line of duty on July 19, 1988. Officer Howard was killed while inside an adult bookstore on Richmond Avenue. Howard was in the bookstore to ticket the place for violating a city arcade statute. He was waiting for a patrol car to transport the clerk to jail when he was shot.

He was shot by Robert Mitchell Jennings three times at close range and while lying on the floor attempting to get away, Jennings shot him in the head one more time. After shooting, Jennings instructed the clerk to give him the contents of the cash register and his personal belongings. 

Robert Mitchell Jennings had previously been in jail on a robbery conviction. He had served ten years of a 30-year sentence and been paroled. A capital murder was expected to file against him. He was arrested after going to Ben Taub for a gunshot wound to the hand. The investigation led to other suspects in the case and other robberies in the area.

Kathy Whitmire, ex-mayor; Lee P. Brown, ex-chief of police; and an estimated 2,000 people paid tribute to Howard. He left behind his parents, Era Mae and Alcana; siblings, Sheila Renee Agee, Alvonada Michelle Howard, Virginia Howard-Lane, Eugene Howard, Alcana Howard Jr., and Calvin Howard; a daughter, Tyesha Victoria Howard; and fiancée, Carolyn Thompson.

Source – Houston Police Department Museum Files