FORT MYERS, FL – A calculated act of revenge fueled a cross-state murder plot that culminated in the execution of K.U. in Fort Myers, Florida, in November 2019. Marvin Harris Jr., 25, known on the streets as “Mesh,” today admitted to conspiring to commit and ultimately carrying out the murder-for-hire, facing a minimum mandatory sentence of life in federal prison. The Department of Justice announced the guilty plea, but the details paint a picture of cold-blooded retribution.
According to court documents, Harris, operating out of a Fort Myers “trap house” – a residence dedicated to drug distribution – believed he’d been wronged by members of the “Bucktown” gang. He suspected they were responsible for robbing the same house he and his associates used to sell drugs. Harris didn’t take the law into his own hands directly. Instead, he contracted out the hit to Latrel Jackson, aka “Kobe,” and an unindicted co-conspirator, D.S. (who is now deceased), offering a chilling $10,000 for the job.
The pair traveled from the Chicago area to Southwest Florida International Airport on October 28, 2019, via commercial airline. Harris met them upon arrival, providing both partial payment and the tools for the job: firearms. Initially housed at Harris’ drug operation, Jackson and D.S. later moved to a motel on Palm Beach Boulevard while they stalked potential targets. The aim wasn’t random violence; it was a targeted strike against the Bucktown gang, a clear attempt to settle a score through extreme force.
On November 2, 2019, Harris provided Jackson and D.S. with a vehicle. They located K.U. standing near a residence known as a Bucktown hangout and unleashed a close-range volley of gunfire, a single bullet to the head proving fatal. Harris, true to his agreement, handed over the remaining $10,000 after the hit was completed, leaving Jackson and D.S. armed and ready to flee. They departed on a commercial bus back to Chicago the following day, leaving behind a trail of evidence.
That evidence eventually led to Jackson’s Chicago-area home, where a search on November 21, 2019, uncovered two firearms hidden in his attic. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) forensic analysis definitively linked the weapons to the murder scene. Shell casings recovered from the scene and the vehicle matched those found in Jackson’s possession, and the bullet that killed K.U. was traced back to one of the recovered firearms. The investigation was a joint effort by the FBI, Fort Myers Police Department, Joliet (Illinois) Police Department, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and ATF.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael V. Leeman is prosecuting the case, which falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a federal program designed to reduce violent crime. While authorities tout the program’s successes, the fact remains that a man is dead, and another faces a lifetime behind bars – a stark reminder of the brutal consequences of settling disputes with violence. A sentencing date for Harris has not yet been set, but the minimum mandatory life sentence all but guarantees he’ll be spending the foreseeable future in federal prison.
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Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Violent Crime|Organized Crime|Weapons
- Source: Official Press Release
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