Crime

An Estero Fire Rescue Battalion Chief is facing multiple charges after his arrest Sept. 26.Albert “Shane” Sibert, 54, of North Fort Myers was arrested on charges of scheming to defraud, grand theft, official misconduct, digital voyeurism dissemination, unlawful use of a tracking device, aggravated stalking, violation of injunction for protection against stalking, battery and money laundering.Sibert is also charged with 16 counts of unlawful interception of wire or oral communications and six counts of video voyeurism.

Charlotte County deputies caught three members of an alleged statewide diesel fuel theft ring in the act at a gas station in Punta Gorda.Just before midnight on Monday, Charlotte County deputies were made aware of some vehicles of interest (semi trucks) in multiple diesel fuel thefts entering Charlotte County.

Two Lee County residents who were arrested after posting social media images of their alleged mid-September robberies are now facing charges of Hobbs Act robbery. The could receive up to 20- years in prison if convicted.A criminal complaint charging Taleah Williams, 21, North Fort Myers, and Javion Ward, 21, Fort Myers, with Hobbs Act robbery was filed Monday.

A federal jury has found Craig Austin Lang, 35, guilty of multiple charges stemming from the death of a couple in Estero in 2018. The charges against Lang include conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, robbery interfering with commerce, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which resulted in death, conspiring to kill persons in a foreign country and a violation of the Neutrality Act.

A Cape Coral resident and registered sexual offender is facing charge after police allege he lured a number of local realtors to vacant homes under false pretenses.Cape Coral police say they arrested 58-year-old Tracey Ramirez for failing to comply with state-mandated registration requirements.

Stephen Jones, a former attorney from Orlando, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by 10 years of probation, for Scheme to Defraud over $50,000, a first-degree felony, for misappropriating funds that were due to a former client. One of the issues involved a Lee County case where court documents said Jones stole $100,000 in insurance proceeds from the insurance settlement of a Vietnam veteran, who was hit by a bicycle in Lehigh Acres in 2019.

A Naples man pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Kyle C. Dudek for the Middle District of Florida to conspiring to defraud the United States by operating an off-the-books payroll scheme. The plea must be accepted by a U.S. district court judge.

The FBI reports a staggering increase in reports of crimes linked to cryptocurrency fraud across the country resulting in $9.3 billion in losses in 2024.The federal report also shows the number of crimes linked to Crypto ATMs has skyrocketed — up 99 percent in 2024 compared with the previous year.Florida — across the state and right here in Southwest Florida — is not immune.

A 16-year-old from Cape Coral was arrested Tuesday after his father reported suspicious items found in his son’s bedroom after he had been reported as a runaway.The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested John David Ruiz in connection with a burglary involving stolen security equipment. The arrest occurred days after Ruiz was reported missing and while detectives were eating lunch at Publix and spotted Ruiz, whom they noticed had put his Crocs shoes into “sport mode” in futile preparation to flee.