A man has been charged in the death of another man more than two decades after his body was found within a mile of his abandoned car, which had been set ablaze in the woods in southwest Florida, according to authorities. The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office announced on Tuesday, February 17, that the 1999 cold case murder of Esco Hunter Jr. has been solved with the arrest of 55-year-old Kevin Holloway. Holloway, of Bradenton, had been childhood friends with Hunter, investigators learned, according to the sheriff's office. On February 9, Holloway was arrested on charges of second-degree murder, arson, and two counts of tampering with evidence in connection with Hunter's death, the sheriff's office said in a news release. He was booked in the Sarasota County Jail without bond, according to authorities. Holloway has pleaded not guilty to the charges he is facing, court records viewed by Us Weekly show. Cops Make Arrest in Death of Woman Found on Florida Beach After Christmas The investigation into Hunter's murder dates back to November 30, 1999, when deputies responded to a vehicle that was on fire in the woods in Sarasota, the sheriff's office said. Deputies discovered that the car belonged to Hunter. The next day, within a mile from where Hunter's car was located, students from Booker High School came across Hunter's body while running on local railroad tracks, according to Detective Brandon Clark, who detailed the cold case in a video shared by the sheriff's office. A medical examiner ultimately ruled that Hunter had been shot to death, the sheriff's office said. Hunter was from Miami, where he was known as a local rap artist, according to Clark. Early on in the investigation, Clark said detectives "chased every lead possible, they spoke with every witness that they could at the time. However, "without new information coming forward, the case just went cold," he added. Before Hunter's death, investigators said they discovered that Hunter was allegedly supplying Holloway with drugs, the sheriff's office said. In 1999, investigators initially questioned Holloway, but he told them that he had not spoken with Hunter for several months, according to the sheriff's office. During Holloway's questioning, they noticed he had burns on his body, authorities said. Holloway allegedly told investigators that he had burned himself while cooking crack cocaine. At the time, however, there was not enough evidence to secure Holloway's arrest for murder, according to Clark. The case was eventually revisited in 2017, when DNA technology had become more advanced and investigators received new information related to Hunter's murder, Clark said. That is when Holloway went from "a person of interest" to the "main suspect," according to Clark. Cold Case Murder of Woman Killed in Florida Apartment in 2005 Is Closed Investigators with the sheriff's office's Cold Cause Unit also "re‑examined witness statements, telephone records, and physical evidence," in addition to receiving "critical insight" from new witnesses, the sheriff's office said. As a result of the renewed investigation, authorities established enough probable cause to take Holloway into custody, according to the sheriff's office. "While no arrest can undo the loss suffered, it is our agency's hope that this development brings a measure of comfort and long-awaited justice to Esco Hunter Jr.'s family," the sheriff's office said in the news release. Holloway's court-appointed defense attorney, James Westervelt, declined Us Weekly's request for comment on February 19.