OCALA, Fla. — Two suspects are behind bars for what investigators said was a murder-for-hire that left a man dead.
Investigators said the victim knew a lot about the son of one of the suspects.
Ocala police said the victim was executed, shot twice in the head and once in the back.
This all happened because the suspects learned he was a key witness in several drug investigations, officers said.
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"It was apparent that this was not a robbery, this was personal," said Greg Martin with the Ocala Police Department.
Ocala police said Lamathis Hamilton and Allison Mells have both been arrested and are behind bars on murder charges. Officers said the suspects are responsible for the death of Roland Lanctot.
In January, Lanctot was found dead in this wooded area near the 3300 block of Northwest Blitchton Road, where he had been living in a tent, police said.
"Roland was a key witness in a long-term drug investigation that included Allison's son," Martin said.
Police said Lanctot was planning to testify against the suspect’s son, Kenneth Mills.
According to court records, Mills’ trial on drug charges was coming up in May.
"So Allison hired Lamathis Hamilton and Hamilton went over there and basically murdered Roland, to keep him from being a witness in that case," Martin said.
Police said Mells paid Hamilton $3,000 to carry out the hit.
Officials said they want to talk to Kenneth Mills and they're calling him a person of interest in the murder of Lanctot.
"We want to make sure every person who participated in this plan, or every single person that participated in the act within itself, is held accountable," Martin said.
Police said despite the witness’s death, the state attorney’s office plans to go forward with their cases.
Police were not able to talk about the drug investigations because they are still active cases.
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