Latrel Jackson, Murder-for-Hire, Florida 2023

Chicago Man Pleads Guilty to Florida Murder-for-Hire Plot

Fort Myers, Florida - In a shocking turn of events, Latrel Jackson, a 26-year-old man from Chicago, Illinois, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate murder-for-hire resulting in death and interstate murder-for-hire resulting in death. According to the plea agreement, Jackson, also known as 'Kobe,' faces a minimum mandatory sentence of life in federal prison for his role in the deadly scheme.

On November 2, 2019, Jackson and his co-conspirator, D.S., traveled from Chicago to Fort Myers, Florida, to commit a murder in exchange for $10,000. The motive behind the murder was to retaliate against individuals who had previously robbed a Fort Myers residence from which Harris, Jr., and others associated with him sold drugs. The individuals Harris, Jr. suspected of committing the robbery and shooting belonged to a Fort Myers gang known to law enforcement as 'Bucktown.'

According to court documents, Jackson and D.S. stayed at Harris, Jr.'s 'trap house' in Fort Myers but later moved to a local motel on Palm Beach Boulevard. During that time, Jackson, D.S., and others attempted to find members of Bucktown to murder in the retaliatory scheme.

On the day of the murder, Harris, Jr. obtained a vehicle for Jackson and D.S. to use during the commission of the crime. They proceeded to a known Bucktown hangout in Fort Myers and observed the victim, K.U., standing in front of the home near the curb of the street. Jackson and D.S. quickly circled the block and returned, and at close range opened fire on K.U., killing him in front of the residence with a gunshot wound of the head.

During a search of Jackson's Chicago-area home on November 21, 2019, law enforcement recovered two firearms from an attic space of his bedroom. Expert testing and examination of the firearms confirmed that both matched shell casings recovered from the murder scene and the murder vehicle, and that one of the firearms had fired the bullet which had been recovered from K.U.'s head during his autopsy.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Myers Police Department, with the assistance of the Joliet (Illinois) Police Department, the Lee County Sheriff's Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael V. Leeman.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence. According to the program's violent crime reduction strategy, the core principles include fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Jackson's co-defendant, Marvin Harris, Jr., aka 'Mesh,' pleaded guilty to the same charges last week and is scheduled to be sentenced in December 2023, along with Jackson.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/chicago-man-pleads-guilty-murder-hire