NJ man gets 29-year prison term for Clark carjacking, attempted murder

Suzanne Russell, MyCentralJersey.com
·2 min read
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ELIZABETH - An Essex County man has been sentenced to 29 years in state prison for the attempted murder of a Lyft driver and assaulting another passenger before carjacking the vehicle.

Farrakhan Howard, 31, of Bloomfield, was sentenced Friday by Superior Court Judge Thomas Isenhour, Union County Prosecutor William Daniel announced.

Howard received a 24-year sentence on his carjacking conviction, an 18-year concurrent sentence on the attempted murder charge and a five-year consecutive sentence for the aggravated assault of the passenger. He must serve 85% of the 24-year carjacking sentence before becoming eligible for parole and then he must serve the additional five years before being eligible for release, Isenhour ruled.

Howard was convicted of carjacking and attempted murder, both first-degree crimes, as well as aggravated assault and weapons offenses following a four-week trial before Isenhour last year.

Around 1 a.m. April 24, 2019, Clark police found a 47-year-old man bleeding from stab wounds and cuts to his head, face and neck in the area of Westfield Avenue, according to Assistant Prosecutor Izabella Wozniak who handled the case with Assistant Prosecutor Alexandra Pecora.

Shortly afterward, Rahway police located a 20-year-old woman also suffering from stab wounds to her head and scratches to her neck, Wozniak added.

Testimony during the trial revealed Howard was in the male Lyft driver's vehicle with the female passenger. At some point during the trip, Howard assaulted and stabbed the woman. The Lyft driver stopped the vehicle to help the woman when Howard stabbed him several times before carjacking the vehicle.

Both victims were able to escape before being located by Clark and Rahway officers. Howard drove off and was later arrested and charged after crashing the Lyft driver's vehicle in Woodbridge.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ man gets 29 year prison term for Clark carjacking and attempted murder