Makes even less sense

If you don't have time, or the want, to read the arrest warrant of John Lomax, the one thing that I can tell you is that this was as senseless a tragedy as I have read about or been involved with.

There is really no motive.

The fight?

It wasn't even over a girl, it was over someone disrespecting a girl.

UConn wide receiver Brian Parker got into it with Bloomfield's Johnny Hood, the man arrested initially over something Parker said to a woman. Now, how that turned into Jasper Howard lay bleeding on the student union sidewalk is just as senseless.

Brian Parker is the hot head and instead of walking away got into a fight. That drew his teammates into the fray including A.J. Portee. Now, Hood's friends, John Lomax III and Hakim Muhammad went to the car after an initial altercation and armed themselves with knives.


Parker, A.J. Portee were involved in the argument about something I bet no one really knows.

There was security there, but eventually, Jasper Howard was isolated with Lomax and threw a punch at him. Did Howard see the knife? I don't know, but there were other people in the arrest report that were concerned that Lomax and Muhammad were armed. Perhaps Howard knew something was wrong. But, in one motion Howard was stabbed, and just like that a life was lost. Howard didn't start the fight, and he wasn't an instigator here. You can't get that from this report. Lomax approached Howard and Howard threw a punch. Lomax then allegedly stabbed him according to the report.

The details are in the 22 page arrest affidavit posted on the Courant if you haven't read it already.  I suggest you read it and come away with your own conclusions. 


Certainly Parker's actions are questionable. He was the instigator with Hood, who was arrested.

Parker and Portee haven't been arrested, which to me is peculiar since Hood has been arrested. How could Hood be arrested but not Parker and Portee when they were the one's fighting?


If Howard was never stabbed we would dismiss the action and ignore it. But, I am sure everyone involved is wondering that night what I am --"Why didn't we just walk away?"

More importantly, Lomax and Muhammad don't seem like problems. They have jobs and were up partying at a UConn dance. What are they doing with knives? Still, what possibly could have been said that would make two people go get knives and stab Howard?

Still so much to answer. And disrespecting a girl? What does that mean? Was it physical or verbal?

Still a lot of questions left to answer, but if you read the report you get an idea how the night went, and what point the stabbing death happened. We use senseless death a little too much. Sometimes people are killed or harmed over money, over love, over views on certain things. There is usually a motivation for violence. That's not to justify it, but what leads people to violence is an important part of the crime.

What was the motive here? Disrespect?

Howard lost his life because someone else felt disrespected?

Now, that's senseless.