Man who killed UConn player sentenced to 18 years

VERNON, Conn. (AP) - The man who killed University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard during an on-campus fight in 2009 has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Rockville Superior Court Judge Terence Sullivan sentenced 22-year-old John Lomax III of Bloomfield on Friday. Lomax had been charged with murder, but pleaded no contest to first-degree manslaughter in January.

Authorities say Lomax stabbed the 20-year-old defensive back in the abdomen during a fight between a group of football players and a group that included Lomax. Investigators believe the fight started over a comment a player made about a woman.

Howard, a Miami native whose nickname was Jazz, died at a hospital from a single wound to his abdomen, just hours after helping the Huskies to a homecoming game win over Louisville.