TAMPA, Fla. — The family of 20-year-old Dominique Harris has finally received answers after law enforcement charged a man in connection with his death in 2020.
During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Tampa Bay Special Agent in Charge Mark Brutnell announced the arrest of 37-year-old Marlon Burgess.
"The reason for this crime is very simple — Burgess wanted to avoid another prison term," Brutnell explained.
According to the special agent, the 37-year-old has spent most of his life behind bars, being released from prison in April 2019 after serving 12 years for robbery, aggravated battery, resisting an officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer
Brutnell says after he was released, he went on to shoot Harris "multiple times" on Oct. 21, 2019, in Lakeland during an argument. The 20-year-old was able to survive the shooting, and Burgess was charged with attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Fast forward to December 2019, Burgess was released after posting a bond and was required to wear a GPS ankle monitor while waiting for his trial to start.
"The thought of potentially going back to prison if convicted did not sit well with Burgess," Brutnell explains.
According to law enforcement, Burgess first tried to persuade Harris to not testify against him in court, which didn't work. This is when the 37-year-old, with what Brtunell calls "cold and calculating persistence," reportedly came up with a plan to kill the one witness to his crime.
On May 26, 2020, the body of Harris was found "badly" beaten and stabbed in Hardee County, according to FDLE.
It was only a few days later, on June 3, that Burgess was arrested by the Lake Wales Police Department for violation of his pretrial release and placed in jail, where he has remained since.
FDLE began to investigate in 2020 after finding the body, conducting interviews and searching for information over the span of two years.
Even as the investigation is still ongoing, authorities were able to conduct an arrest warrant for Burgess for the murder of Harris.
"He's an evil man, no doubt about it," Brutnell said.
Burgess is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, first-degree murder, kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence. More arrests are expected in the future.
“We are extremely pleased with this indictment, and pray it brings some closure to the victim’s family,” Hardee County Sheriff Vent Crawford said in a statement.
Harris' mother, Keisha Jones, spoke briefly at the news conference making sure to thank law enforcement who worked on finding answers on her son's death.
"Dominique was a good kid, Dominique was my everything," she said.
Watch the full news conference down below.