Cape Coral man attempts to evade arrest by jumping into canal, accused of multi-county crime spree

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man they say is responsible for crimes across Southwest Florida. The man was taken into custody after a chase that ended in a Cape Coral canal.

Deputies began their investigation after a burglary in Lehigh Acres. They say a man, later identified as 23-year-old Elijah Gaphoor, broke into a home through a window and stole several items, including financial documents.

Investigators found those stolen items and items stolen from two other burglaries in a car in Estero that deputies say was stolen from North Fort Myers. The sheriff’s office says a car reported stolen out of Collier County was also found at the scene. Later, detectives learned of two more vehicles stolen from Collier County.

Investigators with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office notified LCSO that one of those stolen vehicles was being tracked and was in Fort Myers.

Fort Myers police attempted a traffic stop on the car, but the driver, identified as Gaphoor, fled.

An LCSO helicopter followed Gaphoor from Fort Myers into Cape Coral, where he got out of his car and tried to escape by jumping into a canal.

Deputies, with the help of their K-9 units, took Gaphoor into custody alongside the canal.

Gaphoor faces a long list of charges, including burglary, grand theft of a firearm, grand theft of a vehicle, resisting arrest, and fleeing from law enforcement. He is being held on a $437,500 bond.