Mt. Carmel City Police Sgt. Gilbert Santos has been cleared of any charges in connection with the October 10th shooting death of 16-year-old Uriah Howder. Officer Santos was attempting to detain Howder following a domestic battery incident at a local gas station when the teen drew a knife and lunged at the officer.
Wabash County State’s Attorney Kelli Storckman presented evidence in the case during a press conference Wednesday. Storckman says Sgt. Santos knocked on the door of the residence and is then let in the door. Sgt. Santos, who has identified Howder as the subject at the gas station, grabbed the right wrist of Howder to detain him and as Sgt. Santos grabs the wrist, Howder jumps up from his chair, while gripping and raising a knife in his left hand, Howder threatens to stab Sgt. Santos and yells to “kill me” several times. Witnesses to the encounter all describe Howder as moving toward Sgt. Santos with a knife in hand during this encounter. Sgt. Santos fires his duty weapon two times. The first round misses Howder and strikes a female juvenile who is moving to the hallway to the rear of Howder. The second round strikes Howder in the chest.
Officials said there were 13 juveniles and two adults present at the scene, which was a home on Lambert Drive in Mt. Carmel. In clearing Sgt. Santos, State’s Attorney Storckman stated that “The actions of Sgt. Santos were justified under the relevant law. The force used was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to Sgt. Santos and the others present within the residence.” She added that one of the two adults present stated that Sgt. Santos may have saved her life. Uriah Howder was the son of Scott Howder and Brittany Howder. The boy’s mother is originally from Grayvile. Sgt. Santos is a former Grayville Police Officer.
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