Crowley was convicted of killing Richard A. Howard, 45, in an incident on the city’s north side. The incident was reported about 1:30 p.m. Feb. 6 after Howard was found dead inside a vehicle in the 800 block of Mason Street with a gunshot wound to the head.
Crowley also was found guilty of several firearms specifications and ordered to serve six years in prison on those counts.
Howard was found a block off North Limestone in a white Chevrolet Tahoe, directly behind Littleton & Rue Funeral Home, according to the Springfield Police Division.
SPD previously shared that the shooting was believed to be related to a dispute between Crowley and Howard over the ownership of the vehicle.
A 911 caller told a dispatcher she was walking across the street to the funeral home, where she works, when she happened to glance inside the vehicle parked by the sidewalk. She said she saw the man slumped over the center console, and he didn’t appear to be breathing.
“There is somebody who is slumped over, and I see a bunch of blood on the car,” the caller said. “He looks like he’s been shot in the head.”
The caller said she did not hear anything prior to seeing the man and “just happened” to look in the car.
According to an incident report, surveillance footage showed a vehicle that was later found at the Fairfax Motel. In the car at the motel, police found identification for Crowley, and he was found to match the description of the suspect in the video footage. He was staying at the motel.
After sentencing, Crowley was ordered conveyed to the Ohio Department on Rehabilitation and Corrections in Orient.
Credit: Springfield Police Division
Credit: Springfield Police Division
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