The nephew of a heavyweight boxing legend is facing charges in an alleged revenge killing in a crowded Pennsylvania bar more than eight years ago.
Northampton County prosecutors said Wednesday they expect to charge 36-year-old Jacob Holmes Jr. with homicide in the March 2009 murder of 30-year-old Miguel Aponte Jr. in the Easton Cafe.
It was unclear whether Holmes Jr. has an attorney. His father confirmed to NBC10 that Holmes Jr. is the nephew of former world heavyweight boxing champion, and Easton native, Larry Holmes.
Jacob Holmes Sr. denied his son's involvement with the killing claiming District Attorney John Morganelli brought the charges on for political gain.
Morganelli says that a grand jury and investigators have continued to look into Aponte's killing.
Forty-year-old Franklin Barndt pleaded guilty three years ago to conspiracy in the slaying and was sentenced to 16 to 42 years in prison.
A man named "Jake" was with Barndt that night, Morganelli said. Brandt told investigators last year that he assisted Holmes in the killing including helping point out the best entrance for Holmes and supplying a t-shirt to cover his face, Morganelli said.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
"This case is clearly a case of first-degree murder," Morganelli said.
Barndt was offered no deal with his information, authorities said.
The alleged murder weapon has never been found, tossed into the Delaware River near Easton, according to witnesses.
Authorities allege that Aponte's slaying stemmed from Holmes being shot and another man killed in 2006 outside a strip club in Wilson Borough. Aponte was initially charged but later pleaded guilty to a firearms offense. Another man was eventually convicted and sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison.
