LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – In a significant development in a high-profile murder case, 41-year-old Marvin Ellison Jr. was found guilty of First-Degree Murder on Tuesday for his role in the 2022 killing of 31-year-old Antwain Jamar Hart. Following the jury’s verdict, Judge James R. Baxley sentenced Ellison to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ellison’s conviction marks the second life sentence handed down in the case, coming just one week after his co-defendant, Undray Benson, was also found guilty of First-Degree Murder and sentenced to life. A third co-defendant, Deandre Anderson, pleaded guilty to Principal to Murder in the Second Degree with a Firearm on January 27 and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
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“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.”
The case stems from a fatal shooting on November 8, 2022, when Umatilla Police Department officers responded to a call on Merrell Avenue and discovered Antwain Hart shot multiple times in his mother’s front yard. Witnesses reported seeing a white Mercedes near the scene, and investigators recovered shell casings and the victim’s phone at the location. Hart’s rental vehicle was later found abandoned at a nearby church.
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The Lake County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation, using surveillance footage to link a rented 2015-2017 Mercedes Benz CLS—associated with Ellison—to the crime scene. Phone records further corroborated the suspects’ movements, tracing a route consistent with both the shooting and the victim’s abandoned vehicle.
Additional evidence revealed that three individuals were seen unloading the Mercedes at an apartment leased by a family member of co-defendant Undray Benson. The apartment was tied to “Dray’s Spot Detailing,” a business connected to Benson. Co-defendant Deandre Anderson was identified as assisting with the unloading, and the vehicle was later transported by his girlfriend’s Chevrolet Impala.
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A search of the apartment uncovered illegal drugs and a 9mm handgun that matched the weapon used in the murder. Investigators determined that the three suspects had conspired to rob and murder Hart, with the crime linked to illegal narcotics.
Assistant State Attorneys Gabriel Lozano and Nicholas Camuccio led the successful prosecution of the case, securing convictions for all three defendants. The sentences underscore the severity of the crime and the commitment of law enforcement and prosecutors to hold perpetrators accountable.
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