Arrests Made In UConn Stabbing Death

NFL News - October 28th, 2009 - Written by John

Investigators in the stabbing death of University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard say that they have arrested and charged a 21-year old with homicide. They say they have witnesses to the altercation, who have positively identified John William Lomax III as the perpetrator delivered the fatal wound, according to prosecutors.

Lomax, along with two other men, were arrested and arraigned in Rockville Superior Court on Wednesday. Hakim Muhammad, 20, and Jamal Todd, 21, were also arrested and charged with their involvements in the murder, which sprung during a fight outside of a school-sponsored dance. All three have been identified as friends and were reportedly seen going to their cars for knives before the fight occured.

Todd is charged with a felony charge of falsely reporting an incident and misdemeanor reckless endangerment after it was reported that he pulled a fire alarm that sent everyone inside the dance outside. He is now free after posting the $5,000 bond. Muhammed was charged with conspiracy to commit assault.

Lomax's attorney, Deron Freeman, claimed that Lomax was at the dance simply for the entertainment. He said Lomas was trying to break up the fight, but had no part in the stabbing, and that witnesses could not implicate Lomax beyond doubt. He also said, "this was a mutual combat situation where my client was engaged."

The fight came after Connecticut's win over Louisville on October 18th, in which Howard had 11 tackles. Celebrating the win, he and several other teammates attended the dance but were quickly involved in an altercation that escalated.

At some point, Howard stabbed and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from a slice to his abdomen.

It was welcomed news to a community that has been visibly shaken with the death. By all accounts, Howard was a likeable, engaging student-athlete, who had left his hometown of Miami, Florida, to get away from violence. He was also a father to-be. Teammates who were present during the incident have had trouble coping with Howard's death, and have vowed to carry his jersey and helmet to every game this year. Friends from Howard's hometown neighborhood also pledged to keep his memory alive. Clemson's Chris Chancellor, who was Howard's teammate at Edison High School, switched his number to six last week in the Tigers' win over Miami.

Another man, 21-year old Johnny Hood was also arrested last week for breach of peace and interfering with police, but is not believed to be involved in the stabbing.

Neither of the four suspects are students at the school, although they all live in nearby Hartford.

To discuss this and other college sports related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/