Fayetteville man sent to prison for killing pregnant woman

Joseph Pierre, Fayetteville Observer
·2 min read
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A Fayetteville man charged in the shooting death of a pregnant woman in 2021 pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Superior Court last week, court records show.

Raymond Earl Holmes Jr., 41, entered an Alford plea March 12 to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Ashanti Bellamy, 22. An Alford plea is when a defendant maintains innocence but admits the state has enough evidence for a conviction. It is treated the same as a guilty plea.

Holmes was sentenced to a maximum of seven years, nine months in prison, according to court records. He was given credit for at least two years, 10 months he spent in jail awaiting trial.

In exchange for the plea, charges of first-degree murder, murder of an unborn child, kidnapping, assault, robbery, conspiracy to commit murder and possession of firearm by a felon were dismissed.

Holmes co-defendant, Sincere Perry, 21, pleaded guilty by way of an Alford plea in November to voluntary manslaughter in the case, records show. Perry was sentenced to a maximum of nearly seven years in prison and was given credit for about 18 months spent in jail awaiting trial.

Ashanti Bellamy
Ashanti Bellamy

According to an arrest warrant, on May 17, 2021, Bellamy was with several individuals in the 1000 block of Ryder Court when she and her boyfriend were attacked by Holmes and Perry and then forced at gunpoint into a black Mercedes. The two were then driven a mile and a half to the 800 block of Ridge Road, where the couple was "able to exit" the vehicle when Holmes opened fire on them, the warrant states.

Bellamy's boyfriend was struck by one of the shots and hid nearby, according to the affidavit. Bellamy was struck twice in the back and leg, and collapsed in the road, the autopsy report said. The fetus was said to have died from maternal blood loss as a result of the fatal wounds, according to the autopsy report.

Black and red ribbons tied around the street sign at the corner of Ridge Road and Black Creek Court near where Ashanti Bellamy, 22, was shot and killed May 17.
Black and red ribbons tied around the street sign at the corner of Ridge Road and Black Creek Court near where Ashanti Bellamy, 22, was shot and killed May 17.

A witness told investigators that after Bellamy fell, Holmes walked over, kicked her in the head and shot her two more times, court records state.

She was pronounced dead at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. Bellamy was at least five months pregnant at the time of her death, which resulted in the death of the unborn child, according to the warrant.

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Holmes was arrested May 27, 2021, at his Abbotts Park Drive home in Fayetteville. Perry was arrested July 7, 2021, in the 200 block of Huck Finn Court in Hope Mills, according to an arrest report.

A motive in the killing was not revealed.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Raymond Holmes pled guilty Tuesday to the killing of Ashanti Bellamy