A second defendant was recently sentenced for the Central Florida murder of an Umatilla man.
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 came 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 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 Chief Assistant State Attorney Walter Forgie. “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 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.
