Death penalty sought against Easton man
By Riley Yates
The Morning Call
Northampton County prosecutors will seek the death penalty against an Easton man accused of gunning down another man inside a downtown bar, charges that were brought after an alleged accomplice began cooperating with authorities.
Jacob Holmes Jr., a nephew of boxing legend Larry Holmes, put others in grave risk of death in 2009 when he opened fire inside Easton Cafe, the district attorney’s office said in a death-penalty notice filed Tuesday.
Holmes is charged with the homicide of 24-year-old Miguel Aponte Jr., who was shot repeatedly by a masked gunman who entered the crowded bar through the backdoor, according to testimony.
“There were a bunch of customers that had to dive away for their lives,” said First Deputy District Attorney Terence Houck. He said some were “inches” from the shooting.
“They were all standing right there where Miguel Aponte was killed,” Houck said. “They were all right there at the bar.”
The notice was filed as Holmes, 37, was arraigned at the county courthouse by Judge Michael Koury Jr. Holmes, who was shackled and handcuffed in a red prison jumpsuit showed no reaction as Koury detailed the capital charges.
Matthew Goodrich, one of three public defenders who represented Holmes at the hearing, had no comment afterward. Holmes’ father, Jacob Holmes Sr., who has long asserted his son’s innocence, also declined comment.
The junior Holmes was publicly named as a suspect in 2013, but wasn’t charged until this summer, after self-admitted accomplice Franklin Barndt implicated him to investigators.
Barndt is serving 16 to 42 years in state prison after pleading guilty in 2014 to conspiracy to commit homicide in Aponte’s death. Barndt, 40, acknowledged serving as the lookout and the getaway driver, and to getting rid of the murder weapon afterward.
Prosecutors have said Barndt was offered no deals in exchange for his newfound cooperation. Last year, Barndt and his lawyer reached out on their own to authorities, police say, with Barndt incriminating Holmes when he was re-interviewed by investigators.
Authorities allege Holmes killed Aponte on March 30, 2009, in revenge for a prior shooting.
In 2006, Holmes’ friend, 23-year-old Jason Oliver of Easton, was slain outside a Wilson strip club. Holmes was wounded by gunfire that night.
Aponte’s friend, John Logan Jr., pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, and Aponte was initially also charged with homicide. But Aponte ended up admitting only to lesser charges, including weapons offenses.
Pennsylvania permits capital punishment in cases of first-degree murder in which at least one of 18 aggravating circumstances — including the risk of death to others — are present. Jurors must unanimously agree that a death sentence is appropriate for it to be imposed.
Tuesday’s death-penalty notice also contained a second aggravating circumstance: that Holmes was allegedly illegally carrying a firearm when Aponte was killed.
Pennsylvania is under an execution moratorium, which Gov. Tom Wolf declared in 2015. Just three men have been put to death in the state in the modern era of capital punishment, and all three were volunteers who dropped legal challenges to their sentences.
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/m...219-story.html
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