Legious Robert Minder Jr., pleaded guilty to Murder in the Third Degree, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of Firearm Prohibited for the Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, slaying of Najeer Lane, 22, of Allentown, according to the DA.
Minder Jr. had been charged along with two other men for Lane's death as well as the attempted murder of Bless Jones during Allentown south side shootings, as Daily Voice previously reported.
Minder also pleaded guilty to Aggravated Assault for a Friday, June 21, 2022 shooting also in Allentown that injured Danny Hanna, according to the DA.
He then pleaded guilty to Possession of a Firearm Prohibited for an incident that occurred on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Allentown. He had been "armed with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun that was equipped with a Glock switch that allowed it to fire as an automatic weapon," the DA noted in the release.
In the final case, Minder also pleaded guilty to Flight to Avoid Apprehension for fleeing from Bethlehem police on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022.
The co-defendants charged in Lane’s homicide are awaiting trial.
After pleading guilty pleas Judge Thomas M. Caffrey sentenced him to serve 40 to 80 years in state prison.
The case was investigated by Allentown Police Detective Harold Bonser, Lehigh County Homicide Task Force Detective Amaury Almonte, and was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Bethany S. Zampogna and Deputy District Attorney Nicolo S. Baratta.
Over $8,000 was raised to help Najeer Lane's family, in a GoFundMe. He was the second son of the family shot dead, as Daily Voice reported.
Click here to read his obituary.
Minder previously faced charges for COVID-19 fraud, as we reported. He has a record of theft charges in Chester, Lancaster, and Dauphin counties.
His father, who shares the same name, Legious Robert Minder Sr., 46, of Neptune, NJ, was shot dead in Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. Kameron B. Nuble, 34, of Philadelphia was arrested in connection to his death in July 2024, we reported at the time. That case remains active.
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