Lehigh man accused of trying to kidnap woman at gym

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. A 45-year-old man is accused of trying to kidnap a woman at a gym on Homestead Road North, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Luis Alberto Martinez, of Lehigh Acres, was arrested Wednesday after he approached the victim at around 9:26 a.m. at World Gym on 1334 Homestead Road North, deputies said. Martinez sat beside the victim while she was exercising and began to whisper lewd statements to her.

The victim told Martinez not to speak with her and attempted to ignore him, according to a sheriff’s office report. Martinez stood up in front of her, showed her a firearm inside a brown bag and said, “No, you’re coming with me.”

Martinez grabbed the victim’s arm and pulled her toward the exit, the sheriff’s office said. The victim motioned with her hands toward another gym member and mouthed the words “help me.”

Multiple people from the gym confronted Martinez, prompting him to flee on a bicycle, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies later caught up to him.

He refused to sit in the patrol car after his arrest, the sheriff’s office said. He kept trying to sit up and get away, prompting deputies to tase him.

Martinez faces charges of aggravated assault with a weapon, false imprisonment and resisting an officer, deputies said. His bond was set at $160,000.

He is scheduled to appear in court at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 11.

WINK News reporter Jessica Alpern spoke with Shaz Stewart, a friend of the victim:

Submit