Leaders, lawyers react to immigration status & mental health of suspected shooter of FMPD officer

Reporter: Taylor Petras
Published: Updated:
Wisner Desmaret (Photo via Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office)

Elected leaders are wondering how a man accused of shooting a Fort Myers Police Department officer was aloud to stay in the U.S. for years.

“Until we can fix those things and control who comes in and out of our country, you’ve got to wonder what kind of sovereign nation are we,” said Rep. Francis Rooney.

Wisner Desmaret, 29, is no stranger to the court system.

He’s been arrested 24 times in Florida, but just a few minor convictions due to an apparent mental condition.

“It’s not a diagnosis that anybody gives without giving it a lot of weight,” said Douglas Molloy, former chief assisant U.S. Attorney. “Obviously in this circumstance it becomes much more important.”

Desmaret told the judge he was taking his medication in an audio recording obtained from Sarasota County court.

“I need to know he is going to take it,” the judge said.

“I take it, I’ve been taking it. The one they gave me now it help me from the hospital,” Desmaret said. The ones I was on before when I came back the jail kept changing it. They wasn’t giving me the right medicine and it kept making me feel sick.”

“I’ll order that he’ll be placed back on high supervised release,” the judge said. “I’ll order that he provide proof or a list of all of his prescribed medications.”

WINK News is still working to determine how Desmaret was released from ICE custody a decade ago.

Molloy said there has to be a legal reason.

“If somebody could have predicted this horrible event, there would’ve been steps taken to do just that,” Molloy said. “It’s not the system failing.”

Rooney said he disagrees with that.

“The system is so flawed,” Rooney said. There’s so many people that wander in and out of this country unaccountably and illegally.”

WINK News reached out to psychologists in Fort Myers who evaluated Desmaret in 2016 and said he wasn’t capable of standing trial, as well as the Sarasota psychologist who deemed him competent in 2018, but have not yet heard back.

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