Davontae Dashwon Harris, 24, faces life in prison following his conviction for Second Degree Murder with a Firearm. Harris was found guilty as charged by a Lee County jury following a four day trial. Assistant State Attorneys Sara Miller and Hamid Hunter of our Homicide Unit prosecuted the case.
The crime occurred in August 2016 when the defendant and the 25 year old male victim got into a physical altercation in the corridor of a Fort Myers hotel. Harris broke away from the fight and ran down the hall where he grabbed his backpack and pulled out a handgun, pointing it at the victim. The victim, trying to get away from Harris who was chasing him, ran out of the hotel to a nearby gas station and convenience store on Cleveland Avenue. He attempted to take a car from two women to escape the danger he was in. The women fought him off and called police to report an attempted carjacking while the victim frantically ran towards the back of the business.
Harris followed the victim behind the building where he shot and killed him. Harris then fled the scene but left his cellphone on the ground near the victim’s body.
A “Be On The Lookout” (BOLO) was issued for Harris and he was located and taken into custody two days after the shooting. When the defendant was apprehended his car was searched and two key pieces of evidence were found inside. The first piece of evidence was a handgun which was later confirmed as the murder weapon. The second piece was a cellphone belonging to Harris’s girlfriend. On the night of the shooting, she had been at the hotel with Harris but around the time of the murder she did not know where he was. She began texting him but his phone was laying behind the convenience store with the victim, placing the defendant at the scene of the crime.
Harris’s sentencing is scheduled for July 9th.
Samantha Syoen
Communications Director
State Attorney’s Office
239-533-1125
ssyoen@sao20.org