Cincinnati, Ohio – A man with ties to Dallas and Cincinnati has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in federal prison after prosecutors proved that he arranged the killing of his own uncle to protect a large drug trafficking organization.
According to federal officials, Jamal Binford, 34, received a sentence of life in prison plus a mandatory consecutive 10-year prison term during a hearing in U.S. District Court. The sentence follows his conviction after a jury trial in February 2025.
Prosecutors said the case involved both drug trafficking and multiple violent crimes that took place during 2021. Evidence presented during the trial showed that Binford played a leadership role in a drug operation that distributed large amounts of illegal drugs while directing others to carry out violent acts on his behalf.
“The evidence at trial proved that Binford ordered the cold-blooded execution of his own uncle and he did so simply to protect his drug trafficking organization,” said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II. “The defendant may not have pulled the trigger, but he ordered the execution and is equally responsible for the murder. A sentence of life in prison reflects the seriousness of Binford’s offenses and is just punishment.”
Prosecutors said drug operation hid behind boxing promotion
According to court records and testimony presented during the trial, Binford portrayed himself as a boxing promoter who wanted to help young men build successful careers in professional boxing.
Prosecutors said he claimed to manage two of his co-defendants as boxers, encouraging them to believe they could become professional fighters while offering them opportunities to leave life on the streets behind.
However, federal prosecutors argued that instead of building legitimate boxing careers, Binford recruited the young men into his drug trafficking organization and used them to further his criminal activities.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that between May and November 2021, Binford trafficked kilograms of fentanyl and cocaine as well as hundreds of pounds of marijuana.
Authorities said that during the summer of 2021, Binford decided to eliminate his own uncle, Deonte Nuckols, because he believed doing so would protect the drug operation.
According to prosecutors, Nuckols had been sending Binford text messages that day seeking repayment of a drug-related debt.
Federal prosecutors told jurors that Binford instructed co-defendants Antwan Coach Jr., 23, of Cincinnati, and Markel Hardy, 24, of Cincinnati, to kill his uncle.
The government said Binford paid the two men a combined $2,000 to carry out the murder.
Court evidence also connected Binford to another violent crime that occurred in July 2021.
According to prosecutors, after the robbery and fatal shooting of Kamar Williams in North College Hill, Binford helped Hardy escape from the scene. Authorities said Williams had been robbed of marijuana and a firearm before he was shot to death.
Following the trial, the jury found Binford guilty of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy, being an accessory after the fact, murder in connection with the drug trafficking conspiracy, using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and using a firearm to commit murder.
Federal authorities eventually arrested Binford in February 2023 at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The investigation and prosecution ultimately resulted in his conviction and the life sentence imposed by the federal court.
