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Affidavit: Howard May Have Thrown the First Punch

Howard yelled, "They got me, they got me!"

By Amanda Raus

| Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 | Updated 6:30 PM EST

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Affidavit: Howard May Have Thrown the First Punch

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Jasper Howard died after being stabbed outside a dance on UConn's campus.

Information released in an arrest warrant affidavit for John Lomax, the man accused of stabbing UConn football player Jasper Howard, says it could have been Howard who threw the first punch.

The affidavit details what happened outside the student union after a fire alarm was pulled during a dance on Sunday, October 18. It states the fight began when two UConn football players, Brian Parker and A.J. Portee, "disrespected a girl." They got into a fight outside the student union with Johnny Hood, the Hartford man who was charged with interfering with an officer and breach of peace.

After police broke that up, the affidavit says two other men, identified in the affidavit as John Lomax and Hakim Muhammad, went to Lomax's car and returned hiding weapons under their shirts. That's when they came across UConn football player Jasper Howard.

In the affidavit, one of Howard's teammates, Michael Smith, says he saw Howard take a swing at Lomax. It says "Jazz turned around and faced the guy with the gray thermal shirt and took a swing at him with his right arm."

It was after that, witnesses say they saw Lomax stab Howard in the stomach. Howard ran across the street and yelled, "They got me, they got me!" Then he fell to the ground.

In the affidavit, Lomax never admits to stabbing Howard. He says he took off after the first altercation with Hood and the football players.

The affidavit also states Brian Parker was stabbed in the back while one of his teammates try to pull him away from the fight.

To view the entire affidavit, click here to read (.PDF, 2MB).