Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior nightPolice: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
Giordanni Vidal Castro, 18. Credit: Lee County Sheriff’s Department A Cape Coral man was arrested Sunday morning after police say he shot a man with a handgun he didn’t realize was loaded. According to the Cape Coral Police Department, Giordanni Vidal Castro, 18, was arrested after police responded to a call from Cape Coral Hospital at around 12:15 a.m. The call said a man, later identified as Damian Michael Gonzalez, 23, arrived at the hospital after sustaining an apparent gunshot wound to his upper chest. Gonzalez was later pronounced dead. Officers arrived at the scene and spoke to three other people involved, who were inside a vehicle with Gonzalez when the shooting occurred. Castro was seated in the front passenger side seat in front of Gonzalez, who was sitting in the rear. After bantering back and forth, Castro took a 9MM Ruger from his lap, placed it against Gonzalez’s chest, and fired, not realizing it was loaded. The shooting happened as the car was traveling down Del Prado Boulevard North. “It was a friendly, I guess you can say, banter. All the individuals were all friends. They were known to each other. There was no hostility,” said Brandon Sancho, Cape Coral Police Department’s public affairs officer. “He didn’t realize that it had a bullet in the chamber, then fired the handgun.” The gun was tossed from the vehicle in panic but was later located by police. Gonzalez was immediately rushed to Cape Coral Hospital by his friends, where he died from his injuries. When the friends spoke with the police, they said the shooting wasn’t intentional. “Based on all the occupants in the vehicle actually stated, they said it was friendly banter back and forth, and it wasn’t anything. No ill will, no specific intent where he would point the gun at that person and then the actual victim and shoot him purposely,” said Sancho. WINK News was in the courtroom Monday as Castro made his first appearance. “What I will do is order you held overnight. And brought back before me tomorrow for first appearance at 10 o clock. Then you can get in touch with a private lawyer and make arrangements for that private lawyer to be here tomorrow. Is that what you want to do?” asked the judge. Castro replied, “Yes.” Cape Coral police believe there was one bullet in the gun at the time of the shooting. They recovered the gun in the 100 block of Del Prado Boulevard North, just north of Hancock Bridge Parkway. Castro faces a charge of manslaughter. Cape Coral Police Department wants to remind everyone that all guns, real or fake, should be handled as if they are loaded at all times.