October 28, 2009 Man charged with murder in death of UCONN player held on $2M bond, family claims innocence Play video

(NECN: Brian Burnell, Hartford, Conn.) - Two men arrested in the stabbing death of a University of Connecticut football player faced a judge today. Prosecutors say the fight that led to the stabbing started small and escalated.

The prosecutor's story does not jibe with what people who know the accused killer say about him. Dozens of family and friends were in court today and they say he didn't do it.

21-year-old John Lomax the third said "yes sir" three times in answer to a judge's questions. He is charged with stabbing University of Connecticut football star Jasper Howard to death outside a school dance on October 18th. Also charged with conspiracy to commit assault in the case is 20-year-old hakim Muhammad. Both men are from Bloomfield and a family friend says they went to the Uconn campus together that night. Prosecutors say an argument started at the dance and got out of hand leading Mohammad and Lomax to make a bad decision.

Mathew Gedansky, State's Attorney: "The investigators have located a number of witnesses that identify this defendant as going to his co-defendant's car with his co-defendant, Mr. Lomax, in the middle of what started out as a very minor altercation, arming themselves with weapons, knives, and returning to this minor altercation and escalating it."

Escalating it to the point, authorities say, where Lomax stabbed Howard. Lomax's attorney disputes the state's version of events as described in court documents.

Deron

Freeman, Lomax's Attorney: "I saw several different events of what could have occurred. I know it was a chaotic situation but I didn't see anybody with a hundred-percent ID of Mr. Lomax. We have maintained throughout this investigation that Mr. Lomax had nothing to do whatsoever with the stabbing of Mr. Howard."

Muhammad's lawyer echoed that.

Gerald Klein, Muhammad's Attorney: "There is a witness or perhaps even witnesses that say my client had something in his hand that looked like a knife. But more tellingly there's absolutely nothing in the warrant which claims he did anything with it."

The judge kept Lomax's bond at 2-million dollars. He reduced Muhammad's from 750-thousand to 450-thousand. Both men remain in custody. Afterward Lomax's family and friend's said he didn't do it.

Alfonzo Stokes, Lomax Family Friend: "He's innocent. He told us that he was innocent. That he did not do what was said of him. We all here are supportive. All the family, everybody's here so we just want to let you all know that the truth will come out. Tell us what kind of man John Lomax is. Well John Lomax he was a good kid."