James Howard-George

The manhunt for a felon wanted on gun charges ended Tuesday afternoon after a traffic stop and a brief foot chase in Butler.

Authorities said it was not the first time James E. Howard-George, 26, of Butler ran from city officers. However, he didn't get away this time around.

The elusive defendant surrendered after a police K-9 officer let his dog out.

Howard-George was captured without further incident and is in the Butler County Prison on six-figure bond.

Police were looking for the suspect since they got a felony arrest warrant for him stemming from a March 6 incident near Pullman Park, where officers stopped him and two others after they got a call for three males assaulting a female.

He handed the officers a backpack he was carrying, police said, but took off running before they could search it. The officers gave chase and one deployed his Taser, but Howard-George got away.

A search of his backpack, police said, turned up a loaded .22-caliber pistol.

In turn, police charged him with prohibited possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm without a carry license, both felonies, as well as a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

A tip Monday afternoon that Howard-George was at a Butler Township apartment complex led to the unintended arrest of a suspected Philadelphia drug dealer, but the defendant was not found.

Just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Butler Patrolman Ryan Doctor pulled over a car during a traffic stop at South Monroe Street and McClain Avenue driven by a 25-year-old Butler man.

The man's passenger, Howard-George, fled the vehicle and ran. Doctor gave chase as the suspect crossed Spring Street and ran into a gravel lot.

Lt. Brian Grooms, K-9 officer, and his partner, Chooch, were in the area and joined in the chase. Grooms unleashed Chooch to pursue the suspect.

Police said Howard-George stopped when he heard the dog, which was called off. No injuries were reported.

The suspect was searched but police found nothing. Back at the car, officers searched a backpack belonging to Howard-George but it contained only personal items, no contraband.

Police took Howard-George to the police station where he talked with a ranking officer before he was booked into the county prison about 8 p.m.

Later that night, District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned him on charges in the arrest warrant for the March 6 incident. He is jailed in lieu of $100,000 bond.

Police said they plan to also charge him with flight to avoid apprehension for Tuesday's attempted getaway.

Additionally, police noted Howard-George has been identified as a suspect in a robbery Saturday on West Wayne Street in Butler. That investigation is ongoing, and police did not release any details about the incident, but say charges will be filed soon.

On Jan. 30, Howard-George in an unrelated case was sentenced to jail with immediate parole after pleading guilty in November to helping Ishemer Ramsey burn and hide the body of 26-year-old Melissa Barto, of Butler, in Lawrence County in 2017.

Prosecutors offered him a plea deal after he provided key testimony at Ramsey's October murder trial in Butler County. Ramsey, 24, of Lyndora, was found guilty of first-degree homicide in Barto's shooting death. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Howard-George agreed to plead guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, both misdemeanors. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors withdrew a top count of conspiracy to commit homicide.

In that case, Judge Timothy McCune had sentenced him to time already served in the Butler County Prison from the day of his arrest —June 13, 2017 — to Nov. 12, 2019.