Arrests in Stabbing of UConn Football Star
Man charged in connection with murder of Jasper Howard
By BRIAN HAMACHER
Updated 4:57 PM EDT, Tue, Oct 27, 2009
Just a day after the tearful Miami funeral for University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard, it looks like police have caught the suspects connected to the brutal stabbing.
John William Lomax was arrested this morning in Connecticut and charged with murder and and conspiracy to commit assault, Connecticut State Police said today.
Also charged with conspiracy to commit assault was Hakim Muhammad, 20. Jamal Todd, 21, was charged with pulling the fire alarm that led to the fight.
Lomax's lawyer, Deron Freeman said his client was just trying to break up a fight. Freeman said he was surprised Lomax, 21, was charged with murder, as police had first told him Lomax had only been charged in the fight that led to Howard's death.
"I'm surprised," Freeman said. "I'm curious to find out what evidence they had to secure an arrest warrant for murder...From all the evidence I've heard, he was not involved in the stabbing."
Howard, 20, was stabbed in the early hours of Oct. 18 outside a student union building on UConn's campus.
Howard, a standout at Edison High, grew up in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood, and was a starting cornerback at UConn. He was the first in his family to go to college.
At yesterday's funeral, at the New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, family, friends, coaches and teammates paid tribute to the man they called "Jazz."
"Jazz had the heart of a lion and Jazz would never back down from a challenge," said UConn teammate Kashif Moore.
Howard's girlfriend is expecting the couple's first child, a girl.
"It's unfortunate his daughter won't be able to know him. But we'll have a lot of stories to tell," Moore said. "We'll all miss Jazz."
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Miami
First Published: Oct 27, 2009 10:56 AM EDT
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