By Maria St Louis-Sanchez
The Gazette
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. — A man arrested for allegedly robbing a pizza restaurant with a machete and under whose trailer a body was found Monday tied into a quilt had a history of violence and wanted to go back to prison, his brother said Tuesday.
Alvin York said his brother Howard York was a “good guy” when he was sober but could be violent when he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which was often.
“Under the influence, he wasn’t a nice person anymore,” he said. “He would like to fight people. He would find the biggest guy in the bar and have fun with him.”
Alvin York said detectives were headed to his house Tuesday to investigate items he has that belong to his brother.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has not released details about the investigation of the body, found Monday under the trailer at space 12 in the El Paso Mobile Home Community, 15 El Paso Blvd. near Manitou Springs. On Monday, Sgt. Michael Schaller, spokesman for the office, called the incident “suspicious.”
The office has not said if Howard York is being investigated in connection with the discovery.
People who live at the trailer park said sheriff’s detectives were showing pictures of a brunette woman and asking if anyone recognized her. No one interviewed by the Gazette knew who she was and said they hadn’t seen her in the area.
Schaller would not confirm Tuesday if the body was that of a man or woman. He did not know when information would be available.
Howard York, 43, was arrested Feb. 10 for allegedly using a machete to rob the Papa Murphy’s pizza store at 3105 W. Colorado Ave. During the Jan. 30 robbery, police say he was aggressive toward the clerk and was swinging the machete even after he had the money.
Police released surveillance photos of the robbery and he was arrested soon after at the same mobile home where the body was found Monday. He remains in the El Paso County jail on a $25,000 bond.
The body was discovered by Alvin York and his friend as they prepared the trailer to be moved because his brother was being evicted. Alvin York said they initially thought the body, which was wrapped in a quilt and tied with drapery drawstrings, was trash, or possibly an animal. They soon made the gruesome discovery.
Did he think his brother was capable of killing a person?
“You know, I really don’t know,” he said. “He had issues with drugs and alcohol... I’m not saying that he’s not capable of something like that, but I don’t think so.”
Alvin York said he kept his distance from his brother to protect his family. They had a falling out about four years ago when his brother got drunk and became belligerent during a Thanksgiving get- together.
He said his brother had been living at the trailer for about two months before he was arrested last month. Before that, their brother Paul York had lived in the trailer for about two years.
Howard York has a long criminal history starting when he was 18, and he has spent several years in jail, most notably for arson in 1997 in El Paso County. His brother said he has been convicted for other crimes out of state as well and has been in and out of prison for most of his adult life.
After awhile, Alvin York said, his brother got used to living behind prison bars and even became reliant on them.
When he allegedly robbed the Papa Murphy’s, Alvin York said his brother was re-creating his first robbery in Indiana at age 18 - in which he also used a machete.
“It was almost like that was his opening and that was his closure in a sense,” Alvin York said. “I heard from family that he more or less wanted to be back in prison. I guess he figures that, in there, he can’t get into any trouble.”
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