A 50-year-old Lehigh Acres man was found guilty of first-degree murder with a firearm, arson in the second degree and accessory after the fact.
A jury delivered a guilty verdict for Neville George Anthony Bethune on Friday following a 5-day trial in Lee County.
The murder happened in 2019, according to the state attorney’s office. The victim, a 25-year-old man, had visited Bethune at his Lehigh Acres home to collect money that was owed to him. The victim spoke to Bethune and another man, co-defendant Andrew Maldonado.
The victim’s body was later found in Palm Beach County, burned beyond recognition, in the truck of a car.
Surveillance video from a nearby gas station capture Bethune, his brother Donovan Baker, also a co-defendant, and Maldonado in the area.
Videos showed Bethune’s truck following the victim’s rental car a short distance where it was set on fire.
Bethune is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28.
Maldonado is awaiting sentencing. Baker’s case is pending prosecution in Palm Beach County.