Albert “Bert” Howie, 54, male, spent Memorial Day in Ingleside as an off-duty first responder whose life had been defined by service. A longtime firefighter and paramedic in the Coastal Bend, he’d worked with Aransas County EMS, Tri-County EMS, Port Aransas EMS, and volunteered with the Rockport and Ingleside fire departments. The day before he died, he’d celebrated his birthday surrounded by family; a week later, friends and colleagues would gather at the Port Aransas Civic Center to
honor a man remembered for a warm smile and steady hands in moments of chaos.
That Monday morning ended with gunfire at a home on Capehart Circle in Ingleside. Police identified the victim as Albert Florencio “Bert” Howie, a 54-year-old Ingleside resident and veteran paramedic. Officers soon located a 29-year-old woman at a separate address on Westlake Circle; investigators said she had ingested narcotics and was taken for medical clearance before being transferred to jail. Authorities recovered a possible murder weapon and said early findings pointed to a love-triangle motive involving Howie, the suspect, and a third family member.
The woman, Ashley Nicole Transmeier, an off-duty Corpus Christi Independent School District police officer, was arrested and faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with Howie’s death. According to police and local reporting, she was placed on unpaid administrative leave by her department following the arrest. A national database of gun-violence incidents also lists Transmeier as the arrested suspect in the case.
In the days that followed, the Coastal Bend grieved a familiar face in ambulances, firehouses, and ballparks. Neighbors recalled a paramedic who made people feel safe on their worst days, a regular around town who cheered the Astros and Texans, and a mentor who helped save “countless lives” across the region. As candles were lit in his memory online and arrangements were set for memorial services, the story that began with dedication to others closed with a community rallying around his family, colleagues, and the many people he’d helped over the years.
