James Gonzalez has been adjudicated guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison, for a crime that involved shooting a Lehigh Acres hot-dog stand vendor, as he attempted to rob him, while he was working in May 2022.
After Gonzalez shot the victim, he took off running into a wooded area. A deputy with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was in a nearby parking lot and saw the incident from a distance, so was immediately on scene.
Additional deputies were called to the scene, as well as the K-9 Unit, and Aviation Unit, and they were able to swiftly locate and apprehend the defendant. Gonzalez was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison on both Aggravated Battery with a Firearm and Attempted Robbery- Possessing a Firearm. Each carries a 20-year minimum/mandatory sentence to be served pursuant to Florida Statute 775.087 (10-20-LIFE Statute) and a 15-year minimum/mandatory sentence as a Prison Release Reoffender.
He was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon and given credit time served for Resisting/Obstructing an Officer without Violence.
He was also adjudicated guilty in a second case from 2022, involving drug trafficking, and was sentenced as follows:
• Trafficking in Fentanyl – 4 grams or more: 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine
• Trafficking in Amphetamine: 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine
• Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon: 15 years in prison
• Possession of a Controlled Substance: 5 years in prison All charges are to run concurrently.
Assistant State Attorney Marilla Shoemaker prosecuted both cases.