Judge hears witness testimony in Ian Howard case Judge hears witness testimony in Ian Howard case 05/05/2021 and last updated 2021-05-05 21:58:54-04 LAFAYETTE, La. â A district court judge heard testimony Wednesday from witnesses from both the state and the defense during a hearing for the man accused of gunning down a Lafayette Police officer and wounding three others in 2017. Both state prosecutors and defense attorneys for Ian Howard called several witnesses to take the stand before 15th Judicial District Judge Valerie Gotch Garrett to testify. Howard, 31, is accused of shooting two men at the Big Boyz store on Moss Street in Lafayette. He then fled the scene in his vehicle but returned multiple times, prosecutors allege.