Oklahoma man sentenced to 15 years for his part in shooting of officer

NEOSHO, Mo. – An Oklahoma man has entered an Alford plea of guilty in Newton County Circuit  Court to his part in shooting at a Seneca Police Officer and was sentenced to 15 years in the  Missouri Department of Corrections. 

Bradley Ray Holmes, Jr., 24 of Miami, Oklahoma, was sentenced by Judge Gregory Stremel of the  40th Judicial Circuit on Monday, February 1st, on one count of Assault in the First Degree and one  count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon for Aiding or Abetting the Shooting a Firearm from a Vehicle.  An additional count of Armed Criminal Action was dismissed. 

On September 12, 2020, a Seneca Police Officer was attempting to make a traffic stop of the vehicle  carrying three defendants when he observed a back window open and a flash come from the  vehicle, followed by bullets hitting the officer’s patrol vehicle. The vehicle proceeded through a  fence and into a field where the occupants were able to evade pursuit.

The vehicle was later  located, in which officers found numerous weapons, spent bullet casings, and bullet holes in the  tailgate of the vehicle. Holmes and two other suspects, one alleged to be the shooter and another  alleged to be the driver, were later apprehended. The two co-defendants await trial and all criminal defendants are innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law 

“Mr. Holmes will spend well over a decade in prison for his part in this wanton act of violence  against law enforcement. This resolution shows our commitment to keeping our officers safe and sends a message to those that would endanger them: we will not tolerate crime against the police  in Newton County,” said Newton County Prosecuting Attorney William Lynch. The Alford Plea  entered by the defendant allows him to plea guilty without admitting guilt. Lynch explained that  this was in part to the lack of evidence of Holmes being the gunman. 

The case was investigated by the Seneca Police Department and prosecuted by William Lynch and  Sarah Crites, of the Newton County Prosecutor’s Office.