ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996             TAG: 9602080029
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-4  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press 

MAN ARRESTED NEAR CAPITOL SAYS HE MERELY TOOK A WRONG TURN

A man with a gun in his car who was arrested as he drove near the governor's mansion last week said he turned into Capitol Square by mistake, misunderstood police orders to stop and never meant to harm anyone.

Capitol Police said Tineen Howard, 24, of Richmond will be charged with reckless driving when he is released after psychiatric examination and treatment at Metropolitan Hospital this week.

Howard said he was using his mother's car, which has New Jersey license plates, to run errands downtown for his employer Friday when he made a wrong turn into Capitol Square.

``When I got in there, there was an officer getting into his car,'' Howard said in an interview published Wednesday in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. ``As soon as I passed him, he gets out of his car and starts waving at me, so I waved back at him and I kept going.''

The driveway circles the Capitol and passes in front of the governor's residence.

Howard said he didn't understand he was supposed to stop his car at the guard house where Capitol Police are stationed.

``I start going around, and another Capitol Police officer jumped in front of the car, and he's like, `Stop! Stop!''' Howard said. ``That's when I told him, `I have a gun in the car.' That's when everybody else panicked. Some guys in suits came out. They started grabbing me and put me in handcuffs.''

Howard said - and Capitol Police Investigator Mike Jones agreed - that he told police about the gun not as a threat, but in an effort to cooperate.

Howard said Tuesday he had the gun because ``Richmond is a dangerous place.'' He said the automatic pistol was not loaded; the only magazine was in the glove compartment and the gun was between the seats.

``People thought I was trying to assassinate the governor,'' Howard said. ``I did no such thing. I merely made a wrong turn and tried to get some help.''

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