Columbia shooting suspect found dead

A man wanted in a Columbia shooting was found killed in Southwest Baltimore last week, Howard County police said yesterday.

Justin Owens, 23, was found in a sleeping bag near an alley entrance in the 4800 block of Melbourne Road, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, said Officer Troy Harris, a spokesman for Baltimore police.

A Howard County judge issued an arrest warrant for Owens last week after police alleged that he shot Ata Caillet, 31, of Windsor Mill on Nov. 4 as he walked out of a KFC restaurant on Lynx Lane in Wilde Lake village. Caillet's wounds were not life-threatening. police said.

Sherry Llewellyn, a Howard County police spokeswoman, said detectives learned that Owens had been killed as they searched for him over the weekend. "They realized there was a homicide victim in the city with the same name," Llewellyn said.

Owens' last known address was in the 2700 block of Kirkwood Place in Hyattsville. Caillet and Owens, who police believe knew each other, have been convicted of unrelated drug charges in Howard County Circuit Court.