Police identify suspects in 3-year-old contract killing of Ocoee father

Police ID suspects in 3-year-old contract killing of Ocoee father

More than three years after a father was fatally shot in front of his family, police have charged two men in connection with the contract killing. Authorities say Samuel Wright, already serving a 22-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, ordered the hit on a key police informant, Mugen Pintar, to prevent him from testifying in Wright?s trafficking case. Jamarcus Lane is accused of pulling the trigger.

OCOEE, Fla. - More than three years after an Orange County father was shot and killed in front of his family, police have charged two men in connection with the contract killing.

What we know:

Ocoee police have arrested two men in what investigators said was a murder for hire.

The suspects are Samuel Wright and Jamarcus Lane. Investigators said Wright hired Lane to kill an informant set to testify against Wright in court.

The informant, police said, was Mugen Pintar. He was a husband and a father.

Police said Pintar was shot and killed in front of his own family May 15, 2022. That was the night before Wright’s trial was supposed to start.

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Police said Wright believed if Pintar was killed the drug trafficking case would be dismissed. It was not and Wright later accepted a plea deal.

Samuel Wright is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence.

Investigators said they got a tip from another informant Wright orchestrated the killing. Police said Wright planned it for nearly one year and paid Lane $40,000 to have it done.

Police said a source came forward with information that helped them break the case. Police said they used a second confidential informant to set up a phony murder for hire involving the two suspects.

The suspects’ murder charges were filed in July. Lane was arrested while already in the Orange County Jail on a drug warrant. Wright was arrested while already in prison and transferred to the Orange County Jail.

What they're saying:

Pintar’s wife sent FOX 35 a statement via text.

"I believe in God," she said. "[I] trusted that this day would come. Today I am not happier because nothing and no one will bring my husband back."

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"They have left my kids playing videos over and over to hear their father’s voice," she added. "This pain is indescribable."

What's next:

Both suspects have court hearings next week.