School to host memorial service for Howard

While official court documents related to the death of University of Connecticut football star Jasper Howard remain sealed until Tuesday, there will be one more memorial service for the slain student.

A campus memorial service is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. The event is open and free to the public.

Thursday’s memorial is the last planned university-sponsored event to remember Howard. A candlelight vigil was held Oct. 21.

More than 2,000 students, faculty and university officials attended an emotional hour-and-a-half-long event that took place on the Student Union mall and then moved to Mirror Lake.

Howard, 20, of Miami, died of a single stab wound to the abdomen Oct. 18.
He was attending a university-sponsored dance during homecoming weekend at the Student Union when a fire alarm was activated.

Once more than 300 students and non-students were evacuated, an altercation between a group of students and non-students occurred.

Another football player, freshman Brian Parker, was involved in the altercation.

It was during that altercation that Howard was stabbed. Parker suffered minor injuries.

The state’s office of the chief medical examiner ruled Howard’s death a homicide.

Three university police patrolled the event and eight private security guards were hired for the event.

UConn President Michael Hogan said there were no metal detectors in the Student Union, but all guests presented a picture identification and were patted down.

He also said bags were also searched at the building entrance.

Because of these security measures, Hogan said there was no evidence weapons were brought into the dance.

While students will get another chance to grieve the death of a fallen Husky, university police and state police continue working on the investigation.

UConn police have remained tightlipped on the investigation and state police deferred comment to the university.

The main suspect, John W. Lomax III, 21, of Bloomfield, was charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault by UConn police Oct. 27.

He was arraigned in Rockville Superior Court Oct. 28 and is due in court Friday.

Lomax’s bond remained $2 million despite pleas from his Hartford-based lawyer Deron Freeman to reduce it to $250,000. He is still in custody.

Another suspect, Hakim Muhammad, 20, also of Bloomfield, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree assault by UConn police.

His bond was reduced from $750,000 to $450,000 during his Oct. 28 arraignment.

Muhammad is due in court Nov. 20. He is also still in custody.

According to witnesses, Lomax and Muhammad ran back to Lomax’s car, armed themselves with knives and returned to the altercation.

Hartford-based attorney Gerald Klein, who is representing Muhammad, said in court the altercation was a mutually “combative” situation and his client was provoked.

No official information has been released detailing the altercation or how it began.

In addition to the two main suspects, university police nabbed three others during the course of their investigation.

De’Quan Muhammad, 18, of Hartford, was arrested Nov. 2 for lying to police twice about his knowledge of the altercation.

He has been charged with second-degree giving of a false statement, first-degree hindering prosecution and interfering with an officer.

His bond was originally set at $200,000, but has since been reduced to $50,000. He will next appear in Rockville Superior Court Dec. 4.

Jamal Todd, an Eastern Connecticut State University student, was charged with falsely reporting an incident and reckless endangerment.

Police said Todd pulled the fire alarm that forced the evacuation. He is not linked to the stabbing.

UConn student Christopher Mutchler, 18, of Wethersfield, was charged with first-degree hindering prosecution, interfering with an officer, second-degree breach of peace, second-degree threatening and committing an act of terrorism.

Police said Mutchler posted “empty” threats against potential witnesses on various web sites.