Most Wanted Wednesday: We feature three of SWFL’s most wanted suspects; Oct. 14

This weekly WINK News segment features fugitives from justice right here in Southwest Florida.

This is your chance to help out the community and give the tip that gets these people off the street. These suspects need to be found – and you can help. If you have seen them, reach out to Crime Stoppers or your local law enforcement. Call 1-800-780-TIPS (8477).

Here are three fugitives, and one vehicle with unknown suspects inside, wanted by Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers.

Jeffery Gardner (DOB 8/7/74) – Wanted in Lee County for a bench warrant for failure to register as a career offender and a felony original warrant for grand theft.

He has five local bookings to his name, in addition to a long list of arrests from Brevard and Indian River counties for crimes that include attempted robbery, trafficking in stolen property, forgery, drug trafficking and theft. His actions have resulted in him being sentenced to state prison four times for a period of roughly 10 years of his life.

He is 5’10”, 210 pounds and was last known to be living in the eastern part of Lee County. He has a tattoo of tribal art on his left shoulder. Upon his arrest, he will be held without bond.

Gregory James (DOB 2/13/75) – Wanted in Lee County for fleeing/eluding and drug possession (it’s actually an order revoking his pre-trial release).

His warrant stems from an incident over the summer when he fled an attempted traffic stop at a very high rate of speed, going more than 50 mph in residential neighborhoods until he finally lost control of the car and crashed. In addition to blatantly running from the cops, he was also found to have several baggies of fentanyl in the car.

He was arrested for that crime, and eventually posted bond; however, a judge has decided that James should spend a little more time behind bars for what he did, and two weeks ago issued a new warrant ordering his return to jail.

James has 11 priors in Lee County, and nine in Charlotte, for the possession/sale/delivery of drugs, evidence tampering, fraud, parole violations and grand theft auto. He’s been sent to the state Department of Corrections seven times for a stay of 16 years collectively.

He is 5’9”, 225 pounds with a tattoo of the phrase “money-hungry” on his left arm. He could be using the aliases of Charles Johnson or James Campbell in order to avoid arrest.

Kyle McGuire (DOB 8/24/93) – Wanted in Lee County for violation of probation for grand theft.

His less than law-abiding ways have led to him establishing a lengthy rap sheet filled with charges of evidence tampering, the possession, sale and delivery of narcotics, contempt, battery and the violation of a domestic violence protection order.

His current charges are a result of him getting ID’d by an anonymous tipster after a surveillance picture was released of him stealing close to $1,000 in tools from a Fort Myers Home Depot store. McGuire has been on the run for the last three weeks and is believed to be lying low in the south Fort Myers area.

He is 5’9”, 150 pounds and upon his arrest, McGuire will be held without bond in the Lee County Jail.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is still searching for a vehicle suspected of being involved in a recent theft of nearly $100,000 worth of copper pipes.

According to the sheriff’s office, a driver in a pickup truck pulling a trailer was caught on camera by a nearby business after stealing a trailer-load of copper pipes from the WINK transmitter site in Charlotte County.

The theft happened overnight at the site between July 23 and 24 on State Road 31, just north of Cook Brown Road.

After cutting a gate, the thieves loaded up 62 copper pipes that were 25 feet in length and weighed about 100 lbs. each.

The suspect vehicle is being identified as an early 2000s blue Dodge Dakota.

Thieves also stole 12,000 feet of copper wire from streetlight control boxes on SR-82 near Columbus Boulevard in Lehigh Acres between August 3 and August 7. That copper is valued at $30,000. If you have information on this crime, you can call Crime Stoppers at the number below. You may be eligible for an additional $1,000 reward.

Our WINK News viewers in Southwest Florida have been busy calling in tips to help capture fugitives in Southwest Florida. Seven suspects featured on Most Wanted Wednesday have been arrested since September 1.

Trish Routte with SWFL Crime Stoppers said, “WINK’s viewers play an integral part in the arrests.” So keep the tips coming.

Read more on those suspects here.

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If you have a tip on the whereabouts of any of these wanted suspects contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers. All callers will remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000.

Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers
1-800-780-TIPS (8477) or
southwestfloridacrimestoppers.com