UFC Pioneer Harold Howard Arrested After Multiple Assaults, Driving Truck Into Casino

For once, it would be nice to hear a news story about an old-school UFC competitor that didn’t involve a horrible crime or a death hoax. Ah, well. The Niagara Falls Review is reporting that 51-year-old martial artist Harold Howard — who compiled a 2-3 MMA record from 1994-1996, including a victory via forfeit over Royce Gracie at UFC 3 — was arrested last night after a Quinton Jackson-esque vehicular freak-out. Here’s what Howard has been accused of doing:

– Assaulting a male and a female with a weapon following a dispute at a residence, then fleeing the scene in his pick-up truck.

– Smashing into another vehicle in the driveway of a different residence, then taking off again.

– Evading police when they caught up to Howard and tried to pull him over.

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– Intentionally driving his truck into the front doors of the Fallsview Casino, where he came to a stop a short distance from the gaming floor.

– Failing to double-down on 11.

Said Niagara Regional Police Staff Sgt. Shawn Clarkson: “Thank God it wasn’t a Friday night. We were extremely fortunate not more people were around. A couple of people had to duck out of the way, but we could of had some real serious problems there if it had been a few hours earlier or another day…There were serious injuries [to the victims of the initial assaults], but not life-threatening at this point. There were head injuries and lacerations to arms and hands. They were taken to hospital and tests were being done.”

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Howard might be looking at serious jail time considering all the charges he picked up — two counts of attempted murder (!), two counts of assault with a weapon, attempted break and enter, fail to remain, flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, mischief and two counts of breach of recognizance.

A photo of the casino crime scene is below. In the immortal words of Howard himself, “I told you if it worked it worked, and it did and I didn’t, so in the end it didn’t.”