Woman accused of running down boyfriend had prior domestic assaults

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 | 7:30 p.m.

A woman suspected of running down her boyfriend with the couple's vehicle this week was arrested in two prior incidents in which Metro Police said she punched and stabbed her partner, according to court documents.

Lahtijera Howard, 26, is accused of killing Las Vegan Darryl White, 34, on Wednesday, Metro Police said. The Clark County Coroner's Office had not ruled on his official cause of death as of Friday afternoon and investigators have not released further details.

Officers arrived to find White's body on a landscaped area outside the couple's apartment complex about 2:30 p.m. in the 3700 block of East Bonanza Road, police said.

After witness statements and evidence of recent collision damage to the couple's vehicle, which was found nearby, Howard was arrested Thursday and booked on a murder count.

This wasn't the first Metro investigation involving the couple.

"You're going to jail, watch"

A fight over the couple's young son turned physical and resulted in a broken window, intervening neighbors and Howard stabbing White in the thigh, according to Howard's arrest report.

Howard was booked on one count of domestic battery with a deadly weapon, and child protective services took possession of the toddler, who had also sustained injuries, police said. It wasn't immediately clear if either parent had custody of the child before Wednesday's incident.

Officers were dispatched about 3:40 p.m. Feb. 4 to an apartment complex in the 1800 block of West Charleston Boulevard, police said.

The fight began when Howard told White she was leaving and taking their son, police said. That's when White said he grabbed the boy.

The couple denied attacking each other and accused the other of battery during the beginning of the fight, the report said.

White said the woman pushed him and Howard accused the man of attacking her and trying to strangle her with a phone-charger cord, police said.

Howard stepped outside to solicit help from neighbors while she was on the phone with police, according to the report. White said Howard told him, "You're going to jail, watch."

White locked the door and Howard told investigators she broke the window to enter the apartment when she saw her boyfriend attack the toddler.

Several neighbors entered the apartment with Howard and began to fight White, he told police. Howard said she stabbed White as he hit her and the neighbors, according to the report. White admitted to fighting the neighbors, a woman and three teenagers, but denied striking Howard and the child.

The couple and the boy were hospitalized, and Howard was the only one booked in the incident. The boy suffered significant bruising on his forehead and the left side of his face.

Las Vegas Justice Court records show that Howard pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of misdemeanor domestic battery and was given a six-month suspended jail sentence. She was ordered to stay out of trouble and seek counseling for six months and participate in community service.

She completed the 48 hours of community service and attended 11 of the 26 counseling sessions. The case remained open this week, record show.

Baby in danger

Less than nine months before the stabbing incident, White had told police that Howard kicked the then 7-month-old baby and threatened to suffocate him with a pillow if White didn't back off, according to her arrest report from the May 11, 2015, incident.

She then proceeded to grab the baby's stroller and threw it from a second-floor patio to the first floor, the report said.

White told officers that Howard had been angered over the use of an iPad and during the argument had kicked the baby as he crawled toward her, police said.

Howard walked outside to the patio with the boy and White followed her, police said. A maintenance worker, who called 911, told officers that a man and a woman were tussling over the baby.

According to White, the baby was being held like a rag doll and grabbed with force near the neck by Howard as the tussle continued, police said.

Howard told police that White had hit her in the face, the report said. She denied kicking the boy.

Officers found no visible injuries to the baby, and White and Howard had minimal scratches, police said.

Since the maintenance worker had seen Howard punch White, she was booked on one count of misdemeanor domestic battery, police said.

Howard pleaded guilty to the battery charge, records show. Court guidelines were similar to the ones in the stabbing case. She was jailed for 10 days in September last year for not completing counseling classes, records show.

The case had been closed two weeks before the stabbing incident, records show.

Howard was booked without bail on the murder count at the Clark County Detention Center, jail records show. She's scheduled to make a court appearance Monday.