Fatal stabbing death in Covington in 2018 gets Chazrico Gibson 20 years in prison

Chazrico Gibson has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of victim Aaron Howard in the early morning hours of July 1, 2018.

On that day, shortly after bars closed, a fight broke out in the parking lot behind Pachinko’s Bar in Covington. Gibson produced a knife and stabbed three people. Howard was stabbed through the heart while Nathan West and Torrey Montgomery sustained minor injuries.

Following an investigation by Covington Police, Detective Justin Bradbury obtained a warrant for Gibson’s arrest after a woman who witnessed the stabbing told police the man with the knife had just given her his phone number.

Shortly before the case was set to go to trial Gibson pled guilty to Manslaughter 2nd Degree and two counts of Assault 2nd Degree.

Sentencing was then delayed for over a year due to Gibson’s repeated attempts to withdraw his guilty plea. On Monday (May 4), the sentencing hearing went forward after the court ruled Gibson failed to establish a legal basis for withdrawing his guilty plea.

Aaron Howard’s mother and stepfather addressed the court about the devastating loss of their son.

Judge Gregory Bartlett followed the recommendation of Asst. Commonwealth’s Attorney Aaron Levinson and sentenced Gibson to 10 years to serve for Manslaughter 2nd Degree and five years to serve for each count of Assault 2nd Degree, all counts to run consecutively for a total of 20 years to serve.

After the sentence was handed down, Howard’s family expressed relief that this ordeal was finally over and justice was served.

Commonwealth Attorney’s Office