Deputies are looking for two masked people in connection with multiple Lehigh Acres vehicle burglaries that resulted in at least four stolen firearms.
According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, several vehicle burglaries were committed at the Vista Palms apartment complex and in the Laurel Park community on early Wednesday morning.
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VEHICLE BURGLARIES/FIREARMS STOLEN: During the early morning hours of 2/1/23, several vehicle burglaries were committed in the Vista Palms apartment complex and Laurel Park community in Lehigh Acres. At least four firearms were stolen.
— SWFL Crime Stoppers (@SWFLCrime8477) February 7, 2023
Can you ID them? Call @SWFLCrime8477. pic.twitter.com/aifbgvQGwR
“And what they do is they just go to every single car that they come in contact with; they jiggle the handle; they move on to the next car. Unfortunately, we had at least four different vehicles that were broken into,” said Trish Routte, manager of Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers.
Routte told us this group of thieves made off with a lot of belongings, some of them dangerous.
“There were several weapons that were stolen from vehicles,” Routte said.
Four guns from Palm Vistas alone. Seven-year resident William Carley says that kind of news got his attention.
“That’s alarming,” Carley said. “That they just stole them out of somebody’s car. Well, you know, people got to take caution… you put a gun in your car. You take it back in the house with you.”
“If you happen to be in the middle of the night—walking the dog, coming in late, whatever—and you notice suspicious people in your neighborhood, definitely call that in immediately because you could be helping your neighbors or your friends avert a crime,” Routte said. “You know, in this case, these guys probably have done this before; they knew enough to cover a part of their faces.”
If you have any information on the incidents, call Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8477.