New York man indicted on murder charges in Houston County killing
PERRY -- A New York City man accused of a Houston County killing and a related Thanksgiving drive-by shooting has been indicted on multiple charges, including malice and felony murder.
Indictments against Cheikh “Chucky” Howard Gningue, 19, also include charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in the Nov. 29 fatal shooting of 20-year-old Jarvis K. Rouse of Macon. Rouse was shot once in the head inside a home at a party in the 100 block of Carter Circle near Warner Robins.
And in an earlier Nov. 27 drive-by shooting case, Gningue and his friend, Brandon Ra’Shaud Howard, 20, of Warner Robins, both were indicted on four counts of aggravated assault and one count of violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act. Howard is the accused driver.
Howard also was indicted on one count of hindering the apprehension or punishment of a criminal. He’s accused of driving Gningue out of town after the slaying.
According to authorities, Gningue had an ongoing beef with one of the people fired upon in the drive-by. Both are rival gang members and may have been at odds over a girl. Rouse had no gang affiliation and had simply gone to a party where he had a confrontation with Gningue.
Houston County sheriff’s Capt. Jon Holland has declined to release the name of the person with whom Gningue allegedly had the dispute.
Gningue and Howard were living on the same street in Warner Robins at the time of the slaying, according to arrest warrants. The indictment as well as Gningue’s arrest and booking report list a New York City address for him. He fled to New York City after the slaying and was extradited to Houston County to face trial.
Also indicted Tuesday was Jason Marcus Pitzer, 24, of Perry, on multiple counts of vehicular homicide, serious injury by vehicle, driving under the influence of drugs and other traffic charges.
Pitzer is accused of driving under the influence of prescription drugs when he ran his pickup through a red light Oct. 8 at Russell Parkway and Burns Drive and crashed into the side of a sports utility vehicle.
Emalee Raine Formica, 22, of Warner Robins, the SUV’s driver, was pronounced dead at the Medical Center, Navicent Health, at 2:25 p.m. from injuries sustained in the 9:15 a.m. accident, police said.
According to the indictment, Pitzer was under the influence of Alprazolam -- a prescription medication for anxiety -- and Methadone, a prescription pain medication also used for the treatment of narcotic drug addiction.
Also indicted was Jonas Hopkins, 20, of Perry, on charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault, burglary, armed robbery and home invasion in Houston County on Dec. 23.
Hopkins is accused of threatening to kill a senior female resident with a knife after breaking into her Michael Court home near Warner Robins. He also accused of stealing computers, cash, her driver’s license and credit cards at knifepoint, according to the indictment.
Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report.
To contact writer Becky Purser, call 256-9559.
This story was originally published February 25, 2015 at 3:26 PM with the headline "New York man indicted on murder charges in Houston County killing ."