Davella man dies in police-involved shooting

By Lilly Adkins
BSN Associate Editor

DAVELLA — A Martin County man died in an officer-involved shooting at his residence at 826 Sandlick Road in Davella early Tuesday morning.James Lee Howard, 36, also known as Jimmy Lee Howard, suffered a gunshot wound to the head, according to Martin County Coroner Chris Todd, who pronounced him dead at the scene at 2:46 a.m. Tuesday.“I don’t know how many times he was hit yet, but he was shot in the head by a KSP trooper,” Todd said. “I will be taking him to Frankfort in the morning for an autopsy.”Martin County Sheriff John Kirk said a call went into dispatch of someone shooting and they transferred it to Kentucky State Police, who sent two troopers to the scene.“He started shooting at the officers,” Kirk said. “Dispatch called me and woke me up and said there was an active shooter situation, so I told them to call every deputy they could think of and other agencies. Thankfully, no officers were injured. There was another man at the scene, but he was trying to get away from him and he said that they had been drinking. It’s a terrible thing, but he did it to himself.”Kentucky State Police is handling the investigation.Other agencies responding to the active-shooter situation included the Pikeville, Paintsville and Prestonsburg police departments, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.