Willow man threatens probation officer with bomb

A promise to, “rain down hell,” on a probation office has resulted in three new felony charges for a new parolee residing in Willow Springs. Mark A. Howell, 45, newly discharged from the Missouri Department of Corrections, is accused of texting threats to his parole officer. 

 

On October 21, a parole officer contacted Willow Springs Police Department to report terroristic threats he received from Mark “Adam” Howell, who is recently paroled on his five-year sentence from a 2021 conviction of second-degree assault. In the texts, the defendant says he has a chlorine bomb and expresses anger over a bill he received from the probation department. According to court documents, this $550 invoice is the standard intervention fee charged to all parolees. 

 

Howell’s text messages, according to Sergeant Mike Zeller of the Willow Springs Police Department, were not personal in nature to the officer in question but threaten the entire adult probation office. At one point, Howell texts that is he goes back to jail, he will “rain down hell,” and try to take as many people with him as possible. 

 

Howell, court documents note, has a history of violence and weapons offenses. He barricaded himself inside a Main Street residence in 2019, shooting a firearm at officers who tried to make entry. In 2021, he assaulted a restaurant employee with a bow and arrow, also on Willow Springs’ Main St. 

 

Though the threats were not personal, the probation officer noted he was concerned for his and his family’s personal safety. The victim and the defendant see each other frequently at school pick up/drop off. Security at the school in question was recommended to be heightened in response, notes Sgt. Zeller’s probable cause statement, as well as at the probation office itself.

 

For these text messages, Howell faces charges of tampering with a judicial officer, first degree terroristic threat and first-degree harassment. A no-bond warrant for his arrest was issued on October 23. Online court records indicate Howell has not been arrested.