Lomax Sentenced to 18 Years for Howard Death

John Lomax III has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for the death of former University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard.

The 22-year-old Bloomfield resident said he regretted his actions on the night of Oct. 18, 2009 and appealed to the Howard family for forgiveness prior to receiving his sentence from Judge Terence A. Sullivan in Tolland Superior Court in Rockville Friday morning.

“I know it hurts. I know it hurts. I would never want this to happen to any family. I love you all even though I don’t know you all,” Lomax said sobbing. “I love you all even though you may have some hate in your heart. … I’m not putting on a front. …I truly wish the best for you and your family.”

Howard’s mother Joanglia did not look at Lomax. Instead, crying, she told the judge that, “Every day I cry about my baby, my only son."

"I miss my baby so much. Everything was taken from me. My grandbaby will never be able to see her daddy,” she said, referring to Howard’s daughter Ja'Miya Tia, who was born months after his death.

On Oct. 18, 2009, Howard, from Miami, FL, was fatally stabbed outside the UConn Student Union after a West Indian Social Club dance.

Tolland State’s Attorney Matthew C. Gedansky told Sullivan that the stabbing occurred after a series of confrontations, none of which involved Howard.

Gedansky said Lomax and a second man, Hakim Muhammad, 21, also of Bloomfield, briefly left the area during the commotion at the Student Union to go to Lomax’s car, only to return minutes later with knives.

Muhammad allegedly stabbed Brian Parker, a friend of Howard’s and fellow UConn football player, in the back, Gedansky said. Lomax put a knife in Howard's abdomen, the attorney said.

Although Howard had received wounds to three major blood vessels, he was conscious for a time, Gedansky said. Howard’s last words to paramedics before he was flown by Life Star helicopter to St. Francis Hospital Medical Center in Hartford were that he was going to be a father, Gedansky said.

Emergency surgery could not save Howard, who died of his injuries a short time later.

Parker was treated at Windham Community Memorial Hospital in Willimantic and later released.

During the nearly two-hour sentencing, Judge Sullivan heard testimony from the Lomax and Howard families, in addition to friends and coach who had worked with Howard.

Gedansky read a statement from former UConn head football coach Randy Edsall, who was unable to attend.

Edsall wrote that the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2009 “changed [his] life forever.”

Edsall had to identify Howard’s body and call Howard’s family to tell them that their son had been killed. It was a call "a coach or parent should never have to make or have to receive,” Edsall wrote.

The former coach wrote that Howard had been positioning himself to play professional football and that his dream was to play in the BCS Bowl, something the Huskies achieved in January when the football team competed in the .

Edsall said Howard’s memory “served as an inspiration,” adding that “everyone that came in contact with Jazz was better for it.” Edsall wrote that he is “a better man for having known Jazz.”

Edsall called Lomax a “coward with a knife.”

One football player, who spoke on behalf of the team, told the judge that Howard was a brother who set an example on and off the field, and a mentor to many younger players on the team.

Henry Williams, Howard’s father, said Lomax’s name is “etched” in his mind forever.

“You took the joy out of my life,” Williams said looking at Lomax. “You destroyed my life.”

Williams said that he had no sympathy for Lomax and that he “despised” him for what he did.

“I ask the Lord to forgive me for not forgiving you,” he said.

One of Lomax’s aunts spoke on behalf of his mother, and said that Lomax was a good father with family values.

Lomax watched tearfully as his grandmother asked for God to help Howard’s father to forgive in time, and said that Lomax was not a “hoodlum” or a “gangster.”

“We raised him to be a lot better than what’s being said in this court room today,” Alfonzo Stokes, Lomax’s stepfather, said. “We’re sorry about this. We’re sorry about this tragic situation.”

Sullivan said it was clear that Lomax intended to do bodily harm when he retrieved the knives from his car, but that he couldn’t understand why he felt the need to do so. The judge said Lomax had "many opportunities to walk away."

“Mr. Lomax, you took the life of Jasper Howard," Sullivan said. "In taking his life, you took from his family all that he was … and all the things that he could have become.”

The charges against Muhammad are pending.

Muhammad has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the October 2009 incident, including conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.

Muhammad, who is being represented by Attorney Gerald M. Klein, was charged with additional offenses on June 2, 2010. Related to the June incident, Muhammad has pleaded not guilty to charges, which include second-degree breach of peace, second-degree threatening and intimidation of a witness.

He is scheduled to next appear in Tolland Superior Court in Rockville on April 8.