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Suspect in LA gay pride event was arrested on gun charge last year

Posted at 6:13 PM, Jun 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-12 21:36:45-04

CLARK COUNTY, Ind. -- The Indiana man accused of threatening a large gay pride event in Los Angeles was on probation from a gun arrest near his hometown last year.

James Wesley Howell, was arrested in October 2015 in Clark County, Indiana, according to records obtained by Call 6 Investigates.

Howell was charged with pointing a gun at another person, but he pled guilty only to another charge of intimidation as part of an agreement with Clark County prosecutors. 

RELATED | Indiana man arrested for threats to gay pride parade

Howell was arrested Sunday in Santa Monica, California after police said he told them he wanted to harm the LA Pride event that draws hundreds of thousands to the Los Angeles area.  

Police say Howell had three assault rifles, ammunition and a five-gallon bucket of chemicals that could have been used to make a bomb. 

Howell is being held on $500,000 bond. He's scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

RELATED | How police caught up to James Howell

Police do not believe Howell has any connection to the Sunday morning mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left at least 50 people dead. 

Below is an image from James Howell's Facebook page of what appears to be the car he was in when Santa Monica police arrested him.