Alabama Ex-Con Accused Killing 12-Year Old Missing Florida Girl

An ex-convict from Alabama is accused of kidnapping, killing and disposing of the body of a 12-year-old Florida girl.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan announced the arrest of 38-year-old Robert Letroy Howard of East Brewton, Alabama, during a news conference on Thursday morning.

Morgan says investigators zeroed in on Howard during a canvass of the neighborhood where Naomi Jones lived near Pensacola. Morgan says Howard “frequented” the Aspen Village apartment of his girlfriend, which is “very near” the Jones family’s apartment.

The sheriff says 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.

It is not known whether Howard has an attorney. He was arrested Thursday morning.

He’s being held on a $600,000 bond.