Federal Jury Convicts Three Naples Men in $30,000 Murder-for-Hire Plot Targeting a Man Whose Brother Wanted Him Dead

A federal jury has found three Naples men guilty of plotting to kill a man for $30,000 on behalf of the intended victim's own brother, closing out a case that began with an April 2025 arrest in a Naples grocery store parking lot. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced on Oct. 8, 2026, that jurors convicted Jesus Pujol Hernandez, 42, Miguel Marquez Romero, 30, and Paulo Sabon Montero, 55, all of Naples, of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and use of interstate facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.

Each man now faces up to 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Sentencing hearings are set for Jan. 27, 2027. The case was tried in the federal courthouse in Fort Myers, which handles cases from Collier, Lee and the surrounding Southwest Florida counties.

What the jury heard

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI learned on April 16, 2025, that Marquez had told Sabon he had a "sweet play" involving a millionaire on Marco Island who wanted his brother killed for $30,000. Marquez then arranged to introduce Sabon to Hernandez, the man who had brought him into the job, the following day. Prosecutors said Sabon agreed to take part and asked to be paid upfront.

The government's account, laid out in the 2025 indictment announcement and again after the verdict, is that Hernandez had been hired by the intended victim's brother to carry out the killing, and that he in turn recruited the other two men. The three exchanged phone calls and set a meeting to discuss the plan, prosecutors said. That use of telephones is what made the case a federal one: the murder-for-hire statute covers people who use a facility of interstate commerce, such as a phone, with the intent that a killing be carried out for payment.

On April 17, 2025, the three men met in the parking lot of a Naples grocery store. Law enforcement moved in and arrested them there before any attack took place. When agents searched Hernandez, they found a large printed photograph of the intended victim in his pockets, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. In Marquez's vehicle, agents found latex gloves, a mask, a bandana and more than $2,300 in cash, the office said.

How the case unfolded

The case moved from arrest to verdict in just under 18 months. The key dates, as described by federal prosecutors and in earlier reporting on the indictment, are below.

When the indictment was announced in the spring of 2025, the defendants were listed as 41, 29 and 54 years old. The government said at the time that each faced up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted. The verdict announcement lists a maximum of up to 20 years for each man, reflecting the two counts on which the jury returned guilty verdicts. Federal judges set actual sentences using the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, a defendant's criminal history and other factors, and sentences are frequently below the statutory maximum.

Who investigated

The FBI led the investigation, with assistance from the Collier County Sheriff's Office, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The arrests came within roughly a day of agents learning about the alleged plan, a timeline that left little room for the scheme to advance beyond the parking lot meeting.

The intended victim has not been publicly identified. Neither the 2025 indictment announcement nor the verdict announcement named the brother who prosecutors say hired Hernandez, and neither said whether he has been charged. The Florida Press is not naming the intended victim or the brother.

Other Southwest Florida murder-for-hire cases

The Marco Island connection described by prosecutors places the alleged motive in one of the most affluent corners of Collier County. Marco Island, the barrier island city south of Naples, is known for its waterfront homes and seasonal residents. Prosecutors have not said what led to the alleged dispute between the brothers.

The Middle District of Florida's Fort Myers division has handled other murder-for-hire cases in recent years, though the most prominent ones involved killings that were carried out. In 2024, U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell sentenced Fort Myers resident Marvin Harris Jr. to 45 years in federal prison for hiring two men from the Chicago area to kill a Fort Myers man for $10,000 in late October 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. One of the hired gunmen, Latrel Jackson of Chicago, was sentenced to life in prison. Because a death resulted in that case, the defendants faced far higher penalties than the three Naples men, whose plot was stopped before anyone was hurt.

What the convictions mean

The verdict means the three men are no longer accused but convicted, though each retains the right to appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals once a judgment is entered after sentencing. Defendants in federal cases commonly file post-trial motions in the weeks after a verdict, asking the trial judge to set aside the jury's finding or order a new trial. Those motions are rarely granted.

Before the January hearing, the U.S. Probation Office will prepare a presentence investigation report for each defendant. The report covers the offense, the defendant's background and criminal history, and a recommended guideline range. Prosecutors and defense attorneys can object to the report's findings, and the judge resolves those disputes at sentencing.

For Southwest Florida residents, the case is a reminder of how quickly federal and local investigators can act when they receive information about a planned killing. Agents went from learning of the alleged conversation to making arrests in a public parking lot in about a day, with the intended victim never harmed.

What's next

The three men are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2027, in federal court in Fort Myers. Each faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Any post-trial motions would be decided before that date, and notices of appeal could be filed after judgment is entered.

Federal prosecutors have not said publicly whether anyone else, including the brother who allegedly arranged the job, will face charges. Anyone with information about the case can contact the FBI's Tampa field office, which covers Southwest Florida, or the Collier County Sheriff's Office.