Homeless man sought in murder of Philadelphia musician

Law enforcement officials in Montgomery County have announced a suspect in this past weekend’s murder of a 35-year-old Philadelphia area musician, who was playing guitar on the street when he was killed in a fight over $20.

According to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Pottstown Borough Police Chief F. Richard Drumheller, an arrest warrant has been issued for Steven Holmes, 54, with no listed address, for the Sunday, July 30, homicide of Diamonde Stone in Pottstown.

According to court documents, Stone had been playing guitar on the 300 block of High Street in Pottstown, before he and Holmes got into an argument over $20.

Court documents note that on Sunday at about 10:30 p.m., a witness told police that they saw a white male and a black male fighting in the street, with two other people trying to break them up. As the men were being pulled apart, the black male was on top of the white male on the ground, witnesses told police in court documents, that the white male flashed “something shiny in his hand” and struck the black male – known to be Stone – in the chest.

Court documents said Stone stepped back, walked across the street, held onto a wall and collapsed. He would later be pronounced dead at Pottstown Memorial Hospital. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office found that Stone had died of a stab wound to the chest.

According to court documents, an investigation discovered that shortly after the stabbing, a woman who witnessed the fight told her friend – who’s apartment Holmes had been staying at – that “Steve just stomped Klutch.”

“Klutch” was a nickname of Stone’s – in fact, he called himself “Klutch” on social media and had recorded music under his own “Klutch22” entertainment company. While he hadn’t posted new music in four years, Stone recorded himself performing for his own YouTube page as well.

Stone was arrested in Phoenixville and charged with robbery back in November 2011, and at the time, he was considered homeless. But, on social media in 2012, he said that he lived in Philadelphia and had previously studied at Bucks County Community College.

That night, court documents noted, Holmes allegedly fled the apartment he had been staying at, but in a bag of belongings found there, police discovered a T-shirt covered in blood.

Holmes has been charged with first-degree and third-degree murder and possessing the instruments of a crime.

Anyone who may have knowledge of Holmes’ whereabouts is asked to contact the Pottstown Police Department at 610-970-6570 or the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.