| For Immediate Release
July 26, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718
Farrah Emami
|
ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO OPPOSE PAROLE OF MAN CONVICTED OF 1989 BEATING-MURDER OF STOREOWNER
SANTA ANA – Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Tony Rackauckas is opposing the parole of a man convicted of severely beating a 40-year-old storeowner to death. Harry Lloyd Howard, 47, is currently being held at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, CA. Howard was convicted by a jury May 7, 1990, of first degree murder. He was sentenced June 29, 1990, to 25 years to life in state prison. Orange County Deputy District Attorney Bryan Brown originally prosecuted this case. Howard is scheduled for a parole hearing tomorrow, July 27, 2011, at 1:30 p.m. at the prison before the Board of Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations.
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Yvette Patko will appear via video conference to oppose Howard’s parole.
Facts of the Crime
On Oct. 22, 1989, Howard, then-25 years old, went into a liquor store to get some change to make a phone call on a nearby payphone. When owner Yeon Kon Chang, 40, refused to give him change and asked Howard to leave the store, the inmate started an argument with Chang, hitting the victim over the head several times with a skateboard. Chang fought in an attempt to defend himself, and the inmate and victim stumbled outside the store in the ensuing struggle. Howard continued to beat Chang and the victim eventually fell to the ground from the beating. Howard then dragged the victim near a vehicle and when the victim attempted to sit-up, Howard hit him again several times with his skateboard. The defendant then left the bleeding victim on the ground and fled the scene. Witnesses called Anaheim police.
Chang sustained several severe injuries from Howard’s beating including skull fractures in the front and back of his head and bleeding on his face, eyes, and nose. Chang was transported to a local hospital, where he died shortly thereafter. Howard was arrested Oct. 30, 1989, following an investigation by the Anaheim Police Department.
Failure to Accept Responsibility and Lack of Rehabilitation
The People argued in a 2011 parole opposition letter that Howard “has an escalating pattern of criminal conduct…Through a period of approximately two years before the murder, the inmate managed to obtain convictions for grand theft, petty theft, trespass and false identification to a peace officer. At the time he murdered the victim, he was on probation.” In addition, it was determined that Howard “had limited impulse control and poses a high risk for future violence in the free community.”
Howard tried to cover his crime by asking a friend to lie to police and he continues to fail to take responsibility.