Prosecutors will pursue the death penalty for a man accused of paying a 14-year-old boy in marijuana to kill a Pennsylvania father over a drug dispute in a murder-for-hire plot.
Calvin Huffman, 38, is facing several charges, including murder and solicitation, in connection with the death of 38-year-old Anthony Jones of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, officials in Fayette County, announced Friday.
Huffman -– a career criminal with "a substantial record and history of violence" – allegedly paid then 14-year-old Antonyo Owens with three bags of pot and $5,000 in cash to murder Jones outside a church last June over "an ongoing dispute between Huffman and Jones regarding a large amount of drugs," prosecutors said, according to WPXI-TV.
Owens allegedly accepted payment to "exact Huffman's revenge against the victim," and has been charged with criminal homicide, said District Attorney Mike Aubele.
Owens allegedly shot Jones several times as the pair walked side-by-side near the church.
He was captured several days later after evading arrest, according to the Observer-Reporter.
Police were tipped off in March regarding Huffman's alleged involvement.
"That afternoon, the already disadvantaged community witnessed an execution in broad daylight, carried out by a teenager," said Aubele, WPXI reported. "The complete disregard for human life is staggering."
