Fort Myers man’s murder arrest caught co-worker off-guard

FORT MYERS, Fla. A colleague of a man accused of a brutal North Fort Myers murder recalled him as a quiet, dedicated worker who gave no indication he was capable of a killing.

Brett Pleasant, 51, is charged with second-degree murder, sexual battery and robbery in the killing of Jo Ann Leasure, a 77-year-old woman found strangled to death at her condo on June 21.

The co-worker, who declined to be identified, worked with Pleasant at D.N. Higgins, an East Naples underground utility contractor.

Pleasant had a litany of prior arrests and had been released from a 25-year prison sentence for armed robbery on May 24, 2016, little more than a year before the murder.

But the co-worker wasn’t aware of his history.

Pleasant cited a problem with his girlfriend as the reason he left work early when Collier County deputies arrived at D.N. Higgins on an unrelated matter the day after the killing, the co-worker said.

Pleasant didn’t go into work the day Leasure was found dead, documents released Monday by the state attorney’s office show.

The killing might have taken place the night before Leasure’s body was discovered. One witness told Lee County Sheriff’s detectives all the lights were on in her condo and the laundry door was open, according to the documents.

Whenever the killing took place, Leasure appeared to have put up a fight. Markings on the carpet were consistent with hands being dragged or clawing, detectives said, according to the documents.

Among the evidence tying Pleasant to the crime was a bleach bottle lid and handle found inside his red Kia. Both tested positive for blood, the documents show.