Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, TagRecall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
Video that shows a deputy pepperspraying a suspect in June 2019. (Credit: Jerry Theophilophoulos) A Lee County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs investigation shows former Deputy Brian Hoyt, 42, “misrepresented facts” and showed “improper conduct” during the June arrest of Enzo Vincenzi, 53. The attorney representing Vincenzi, Jerry Theophilophoulos, sent us a surveillance video of his client’s arrest. In the video, deputies are seen tasing the North Fort Myers man four times and dousing his face with pepper spray. The deputy who wrote the arrest report, Hoyt, called Vincenzi aggressive and said he “lunged” at the deputy’s vehicle; but that is not what we see in the surveillance video. “Mr. Vincenzi was intimidated, he was tortured,” Theophilophoulos said. “He was nearly killed being tasered the amount of times that he was.” A months-long Internal Affairs investigation sided with Vincenzi’s allegations and agreed deputy Hoyt provided “inaccurate information.” “Not all law enforcement’s bad obviously,” Theophilophoulos said. “But when you have the few out there to do what they do and if they don’t get caught, they poison the rest of the apples. And that’s what Dept. Hoyt has done here. “Thankfully, Mr. Vincenzi’s smart enough to have video and it contradicted all the lies that Deputy Hoyt came in and told us in his deposition in the criminal case of Mr. Vincenzi,” he added, “which was dismissed due to those lies.” While the State Attorney’s office dropped the charges, Vincenzi’s attorney told us that his team plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit in June against the deputy involved. Hoyt has since resigned. In a statement to WINK News, LCSO said: An incident reportedly involving a confrontation between a Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy and a Lee County property owner resulted in an arrest in June of 2019. In the arrest affidavit, the deputy, Brian Hoyt, stated that the subject charged his patrol vehicle, several times, in an aggressive manner. According to Deputy Hoyt, the subject then “proceeded to run” from the deputy while “reaching into his pockets.” The deputy requested back-up and grabbed hold of the subject’s arm. With assistance from deputies that arrived following the initial incident, the subject was taken into custody. During the course of a September 20, 2019 deposition, it became evident that the incident did not occur as Deputy Hoyt had indicated. Sheriff Carmine Marceno requested an immediate and thorough investigation through the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Unit. The investigation uncovered video that revealed discrepancies in Deputy Hoyt’s statements and the narrative of the Probable Cause Affidavit. “We’re here to serve the public, not mistreat them,” Sheriff Marceno stated in a meeting with Internal Affairs. “It’s completely unacceptable,” he added. Upon completion of a lengthy investigation and the location and review of video footage, as well as testimony from Deputy Brian Hoyt, it was determined that the deputy was no longer justified to remain on the subject’s property. It was determined that, despite belligerence and verbal abuse from the subject, he made no threats of violence and that Deputy Hoyt had an opportunity to leave the property without incident. Having not been physically or verbally threatened, Deputy Hoyt was found to have demonstrated improper conduct and untruthfulness. Following these Internal Affairs findings, Brian Hoyt tendered his resignation. “This is an unfortunate incident that appears to be unjustified treatment of a Lee County citizen,” said Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “There’s no room, at this agency, for this kind of behavior. It’s completely unacceptable.”