Hartford shooting linked to UConn player's death

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Hartford police have linked a recent shooting to the 2009 stabbing death of UConn football player Jasper Howard.

WVIT-TV reports police have charged 24-year-old Rasheem Grimes with assault in the Nov. 4 shooting of Hakim Muhammad. Muhammad had recently been released from prison after serving time on charges stemming from the fight that led to Howard's death.

Police say Grimes is the brother of John Lomax III, the man who stabbed Howard and was upset that Muhammad had cooperated with police.

A group of football players, including Howard, squared off with Lomax, Muhammad and others after a school-sponsored dance on Oct. 18, 2009. Prosecutors say Lomax and Muhammad went to a car and came back with knives.

Howard, of Miami, Fla., was fatally stabbed in the abdomen.

It's not immediately known if Grimes has a lawyer.