Turkey Leg Hut Owner Nakia Holmes Arrested On Felony Charge
Gobble-Smacked! Turkey Leg Hut Co-Founder Nakia Holmes Arrested For Hiding Wanted Kidnapper
Police arrested Turkey Leg Hut founder Nakia Holmes after she helped hide a man wanted for aggravated kidnapping in Harris County.
On Wednesday, Oct. 16 Holmes, 45, was charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon and is being held in jail on a $10,000 bond. According to court documents, Holmes was hiding Jonathan Saizon in her Cypress home and lied about it to police officers.
At the time, Saizon was wanted for assault and kidnapping. An officer spotted the suspect at the end of Holmes’ driveway and alerted police. Holmes returned home and left again with another person according to Fox 26. Officers then conducted a traffic stop to ask Holmes if anyone was staying at her home. Records state that Holmes initially didn’t answer, then later said no one was staying there.
However, officers spotted Saizon jumping Holmes’ back fence during the traffic stop. Authorities are now holding him without bond.
At that point, Holmes switched up her story and said she was aware that Saizon was in her home. He told her he thought he saw a cop pass by and told her to check. Holmes said after she returned home she wasn’t sure if he had left or not.
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Just days before Holmes’s arrest, Saizon allegedly beat his ex-girlfriend with a tire iron and held her captive for six hours. He initially went to his ex’s home to allegedly retrieve shoes but began assaulting her when she opened the door. During the incident, Saizon was already free on bond for prior felony charges. Authorities also charged Saizon with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault of a family member.
Holmes’ defense attorney argues that prosecutors wrongly charged her with a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
During the probable cause hearing, defense attorney Alissa Cana said, “There’s no evidence that she knew that he had warrants previous to this encounter or that he was wanted on felony charges.”
Prosecutors charge a person with hindering apprehension only when they can prove the person knew they were hiding someone wanted by police.
Holmes co-founded Turkey Leg Hut in 2015 with her ex-husband Lyndell “Lynn” Price. It became a Houston staple with even celebrities visiting the Houston establishment. Health code violations shut it down last September.
This came after Holmes fired her ex-husband due to “financial mismanagement” in February. The next month, Holmes had also filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Court records show they owed $4.7 million to creditors.
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