A closer look at Dunbar’s “Lake Boyz”

FORT MYERS, Fla. – WINK News is looking further into a recent wave of violence in Fort Myers. Last week seven people were shot, including a child, over the course of just seven hours.

Now there are reports that the local group the “Lake Boyz”, called a gang by Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott, may be connected to at least some of those crimes. The group hails from the Harlem Lakes neighborhood in Dunbar. While in the neighborhood late Friday afternoon, we saw a sheriff’s deputy and police officer together on a joint patrol, part of a new initiative to crack down on violence.

Money, drugs and guns are common themes in a series of rap videos posted to YouTube by the group. The videos have tens of thousands of views each. One video is titled “Yellow Tape Black Bags Toe Tags.” Members are holding guns in several videos, including what appears to be an AK-47 in one.

The Lake Boyz have been linked to several crimes in Fort Myers in recent years. In January 2012, a suspected Lake Boyz member was charged in the murder of 17-year-old Alexis Wilson, who was killed in a drive-by shooting. James Brown was arrested but a jury found him not guilty.

Last October, police raided a home on Davis Court in Harlem Lakes following an eight month investigation, and arrested eight people with a long history of violent crime, some of them suspected Lake Boyz members.

The most recent arrest came yesterday. Jonathan Griffin, 20, was caught with a stolen gun according to Sheriff Scott.

“He’s a documented gang member… and this is one of many examples to come,” said Scott.

It’s important to note that the Lake Boyz are not the only group linked to crimes in Fort Myers. There are several, including Lake Boyz rivals the “Habitat Boyz”, who we’ve heard may have been involved in at least one of last week’s shootings.