FORT MYERS, Fla. — A man accused in a 2019 murder-for-hire plot has been sentenced on charges of conspiring to run a drug ring.
A U.S. District Judge sentenced 23-year-old Marvin Harris Jr., also known as "Mesh," to 24 years and 5 months in federal prison.
Prosecutors say Harris led a drug trafficking organization out of a neighborhood in the Palm Beach Blvd. area. They say Harris recruited dealers to work for him and provided them housing to use as distribution points.
They say Harris continued to run his organization from behind bars in 2020, while being held on contempt charges stemming from a murder-for-hire plot the previous year.
In that case, Harris hired Latrel Jackson, also known as "Kobe," to travel from Illinois to Fort Myers to kill Keion Upshaw in a November 2019 drive-by shooting.
Harris and Jackson were indicted in July on the charges related to that incident. Harris was arraigned Wednesday, according to the Fort Myers Police Department.
While incarcerated, state's attorneys said Harris recruited others to supply dealers with drugs. Recorded phone calls show Harris teaching his girlfriend and co-defendant, Destiny Molina, how to mix fentanyl with other chemicals to increase profit potential.
In October 2020, Molina and three other people were arrested on drug conspiracy charges. Each pleaded guilty and has been previously sentenced.
The case was investigated by the FBI.
Harris is expected to face a judge for the murder-for-hire case on Oct. 3.
