NEWLY RESIGNED TBI AGENT FACES FIVE COUNTS

An undercover drug agent who resigned from the Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation last month faces drug charges and accusations that he
tampered with evidence.

The TBI arrested George Patrick Howell, 37, Friday after the Davidson
County grand jury handed down a five-count indictment against him, TBI
spokeswoman Jeanne Broadwell said.

The grand jury charged Howell with four counts of evidence tampering and
one count of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver.

Howell resigned Sept. 18 after he became the subject of an internal
investigation, Broadwell said.

Broadwell said she was not at liberty to discuss many of the specifics of
the case and could not say where Howell allegedly got the cocaine and what
evidence he is accused of tampering with.

Howell was hired by the TBI on Feb. 16, 1989, and left the agency in good
standing in April 1998.

He came back to the agency on Nov. 1, 1999, Broadwell said, and was rehired
as a special agent.