On the evening of March 19, 2017, a 37-year-old Black / African American man named Allen J. Collins was shot and killed in the parking lot of an apartment complex in east Vancouver, Washington. Collins, along with his friend Jason D. Benton, 42, was helping the girlfriend of a man named Arkangel Howard move her belongings. For reasons that were never revealed, Howard opened fire on both Collins and Benton, ending both of their lives.
The medical examiner later confirmed that both men died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly led police to identify 31-year-old Arkangel Howard, a resident of Portland, as the suspect. Ten days after the shooting, Howard was apprehended by a tactical team at his home in North Portland. At the time of the murders, there was already an outstanding bench warrant for Howard's arrest in connection with a methamphetamine charge from the previous year. He was subsequently charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.
In February 2018, a Clark County Superior Court jury found Arkangel Howard guilty of the murders of Allen J. Collins and Jason D. Benton. During the sentencing, the prosecution argued that Howard's prior out-of-state convictions should qualify him for a life sentence under Washington's "three-strikes" law. However, the judge ultimately determined that his criminal history did not meet the criteria for a mandatory life sentence. Howard was sentenced to approximately 63 years and four months in prison. Throughout the trial and sentencing, a clear motive for the killings was never established, leaving the families of the victims with unanswered questions. Allen Collins' sister spoke in court, stating that he left behind seven children.
