Convicted rapist arrested in Pensacola

An ex-convict from Alabama is accused of kidnapping, killing, and disposing of the body of a 12-year-old Florida girl. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department announces the arrest of Robert Howard in the murder of 12-year-old Naomi Jones.
Investigators zeroed in on Howard during a canvas of the neighborhood where Naomi Jones lived near Pensacola. Howard frequented the Aspen Village Apartment of his girlfriend, which is very near the Jones family’s apartment.
Officials say Howard gave false information that he was in Alabama when the girl went missing.
He was convicted in 1999 on two counts of sexual assault and rape in Alabama and served 15 years in prison. He was arrested Thursday morning. He’s being held on a $600,000 bond. Pensacola Police Chief Chip Simmons said, “We have caught our monster. We have caught the killer that took Naomi’s life, a 12-year-old girl who had her whole life in front of her.”
Howard is being charged with first degree murder, kidnapping, and obstruction in the case.