EASTON, Pa. (AP) - An eastern Pennsylvania man faces life in prison without possibility of parole after a jury deadlocked over whether he should be executed for what prosecutors called a revenge slaying more than a decade ago.
The Northampton County panel announced shortly after 8 p.m. Monday after more than three hours of deliberation that they were unable to reach a decision on the penalty to be imposed on 40-year-old Jacob Holmes Jr.
Jurors earlier deliberated for about four hours before convicting the Easton resident last week of first-degree murder and conspiracy in the death of 24-year-old Miguel Aponte. As a result of the penalty phase deadlock, prosecutors said, he will be sentenced Feb. 23 to the life term plus additional time on the conspiracy conviction.
Prosecutors said Holmes shot the victim at least five times in the back after forcing his way into the back door of the Easton Café in March 2009. District Attorney Terence Houck said he was seeking revenge for the 2006 murder of a friend. Aponte had been released from prison on charges related to the slaying.
Defense attorney Brian Monahan had argued during trial that the prosecution case was based on unreliable witnesses and cited a lack of fingerprint or DNA evidence linking the crime to his client, who told police he was at home on the day of the slaying.
In the penalty phase, Monahan said his client had substance abuse issues and “debilitating mental issues” stemming from the death of his mother and others and was “reared in a household with dysfunction and chaos.”
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