On the night of February 20, 2020, 35-year-old Crystal Lynn Howard, a White female from Lexington, Kentucky, was fatally shot in the chest. The tragic event unfolded in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Angliana Avenue, known for housing University of Kentucky students. Howard had accompanied her son and his friend to a drug deal that her son had arranged via social media with an individual known as 'Jiggy'.
During the transaction, the situation escalated into a robbery.
The man identified as 'Jiggy' brandished a handgun, held the son's friend in a headlock, and demanded their belongings, which included $1,800 in cash. In an act of defense, Howard's son tackled the assailant in an attempt to disarm him. As the struggle ensued, the gunman, later identified as 21-year-old Joseph Manuel Gonzalez of Shelbyville, broke free and fired two shots as he fled, one of which struck Howard.
Unaware of the severity of her injury, Howard's son and his friend helped her into their truck and drove back to their home on Shaftsbury Road. It was only upon their arrival that they discovered she was unresponsive. Emergency services were called, but Crystal Howard was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the incident, U.S. Marshals apprehended Joseph Manuel Gonzalez in Shelbyville on February 21, 2020. He was subsequently charged with murder, robbery, and two counts of wanton endangerment. Both Howard's son and his friend positively identified Gonzalez from a photo array. In a later development, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of reckless homicide and received a sentence of one year of probation.
