What there is to know
- A New Jersey man will spend decades in prison for the attempted murder of a Lyft driver and the assault of another passenger before stealing the driver’s vehicle in April 2019, prosecutors say.
- Farrakhan Howard, 31, of Bloomfield, was sentenced to 29 years: 24 years for the carjacking conviction, a concurrent 18-year sentence for the attempted murder conviction and a 5-year consecutive sentence for assault serious against the passenger, Union County Attorney William A. Daniel announced earlier this week.
- According to testimony during the trial, Howard was in the man’s Lyft vehicle with the passenger. At some point during the trip, Howard attacked and stabbed the woman. When the Lyft driver stopped the vehicle to help him, Howard stabbed him several times before stealing the vehicle.
NEW JERSEY — A New Jersey man will spend decades in prison for the attempted murder of a Lyft driver and assault on another passenger before stealing the driver’s vehicle in April 2019, prosecutors say.
Farrakhan Howard, 31, of Bloomfield, was sentenced to 29 years: 24 years for the carjacking conviction, a concurrent 18-year sentence for the attempted murder conviction and a 5-year consecutive sentence for assault serious against the passenger, Union County Attorney William A. Daniel announced earlier this week.
Howard must serve at least 85% of the 24-year sentence for carjacking before the possibility of parole on that charge, then he must serve the additional 5-year sentence before being eligible for release.
Howard was sentenced in November in connection with events that took place in 2019.
It was April 24, 2019 around 1 a.m. when patrol units from the Clark Police Department responded to the Westfield Avenue area and found a 47-year-old man bleeding from stab wounds and cuts to the head, face and neck, prosecutors said. said. Shortly after, Rahway officers located a 20-year-old woman who also suffered stab wounds to the head and abrasions to her neck.
According to testimony during the trial, Howard was in the man’s Lyft vehicle with the passenger. At some point during the trip, Howard attacked and stabbed the woman. When the Lyft driver stopped the vehicle to help him, Howard stabbed him several times before stealing the vehicle.
Howard’s two victims escaped before being located by Officers Clark and Rahway.
Howard was eventually arrested and charged after crashing the vehicle he stole from Woodbridge.