On Tuesday, police arrested John William Lomax III, 21, of Bloomfield, Connecticut and charged him with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault in the stabbing death of football player Jasper Howard, according to the University of Connecticut. Lomxis being held on $2 million bail.
Police have yet to discuss pending evidence against John William Lomax III, but have over 40 investigators who conducted 200 interviews working on the case.
Deron Freeman, Lomax’s lawyer told investigators that his client is not guilty and that, although Lomax is not a UConn student, he was only on campus to attend a party. John William Lomax himself claims he was not present when the argument started and was only trying to break up the fight that resulted in Howard’s death.
Two other men were also charged for their role in the crime. Hakim Muhammad, 20, of Bloomfield with conspiracy to commit assault; and Jamal Todd, 21 of Hartford for falsely reporting an incident and reckless endangerment for pulling a fire alarm that caused everyone to leave the dance where Howard was murdered. Todd was released on a $5,000 non-surety bail. Muhammad’s bail is set at $750,000. Both men will be in court on Wednesday.
Lomax was first arrested for triggering the fight and was shocked to find out he was charged with Howard’s murder.
Freeman was just as surprised to hear the charges, saying that ”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.”
As previously reported, Johnny Hood, 21, of Hartford was also arrested last week and is being charged with interfering with law enforcement and breach of peace.
Law enforcement has yet to find the knife that took Howard’s life. Search efforts have been made in homes located where Lomax resided. university police towed Lomax’s car towed on Sunday morning after Howard’s death; however, police have yet to report any foul play. Both men, Hood and Lomax, grew up in the same area and witness say attended the dance together.
Our Take
Howard’s funeral was held on Monday in his hometown of Miami. The whole football team was present and relived that the arrest was made; however, they say that it does not change the fact that Howard is not here.
According to CBS, coach Randy Edsall gave a warm eulogy, stating that Howard was “the ultimate son, he was the ultimate brother. He was the ultimate teammate. He was the ultimate friend. They didn’t come any better than Jazz.”
The investigation of Howard’s death will continue to be a long journey; however, with the recent arrests there is hope on the horizon that his family and friends can have some closure.
