41-year-old Marvin Ellison Jr. was found guilty of First-degree Murder by jurors after trial for his involvement in the 2022 death of 31-year-old Antwain Jamar Hart. After his conviction, Judge James R. Baxley sentenced Ellison to Life in the Florida Department of Corrections.
Ellison’s conviction comes just a week after his co-defendant Undray Benson’s trial. Benson was found guilty of First-degree Murder and sentenced to Life. Another co-defendant in this case, Deandre Anderson, pleaded guilty to Principal to Murder in the Second-degree with a Firearm this past Monday, January 27th, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚,” said Walter Forgie, Chief Assistant State Attorney. “𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢’𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮.”
On November 8, 2022, Umatilla Police Department officers responded to a shooting on Merrell Avenue, where the victim, Antwain, was found shot multiple times in his mother’s front yard. Witnesses reported a white Mercedes near the scene, and shell casings and the victim’s phone were found there. His rental vehicle was later abandoned at a nearby church.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office – Florida assisted with the investigation, obtaining surveillance footage of a rented 2015-2017 Mercedes Benz CLS linked to Ellison, which was near the incident site. Phone records showed a route consistent with both the crime scene and the victim’s vehicle.
Additional footage also showed three individuals unloading the Mercedes at an apartment leased by a family member of co-defendant Benson, tied to “Dray’s Spot Detailing.” Co-defendant Deandre Anderson was identified as helping with the unloading, and the vehicle was later picked up by his girlfriend’s Chevrolet Impala.
A search of the apartment revealed illegal drugs and a 9mm handgun that matched the murder weapon. The evidence indicated that the three suspects had collaborated to murder the victim during a robbery linked to illegal narcotics.
Assistant State Attorneys Gabriel Lozano and Nicholas Camuccio successfully prosecuted this case.
