ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
“Lee County Sheriff’s Office! Lee County Sheriff’s Office!” screamed a deputy while walking through the woods. The area is a known homeless camp. Lee County Deputies police the area, as well as under overpasses and in parking lots, looking for sexual predators and offenders. “There isn’t a front door that you knock on. It’s woods; it’s an intersection; and that can change,” explained Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. Marceno told WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar the problem of transient sexual predators and offenders got worse after Hurricane Ian. “Post Hurricane Ian, what did that mean to us? Obviously, we had pure devastation,” added the Sheriff. “People coming from all over to work. We had an influx of transient people that came here. Now, that’s a challenge in itself, right. So, if someone’s here, we don’t know who they are, that could be an issue. It’s a safety issue.” It’s a safety issue facing our entire community and one the sheriff’s office tackles head on. Lazar rode along with Sergeant Erik Hurd who works in the Sex Offender Predator Unit with LCSO. “All produce an excuse. They don’t know, they accidentally provided us with wrong information,” said Hurd. “We enforce every single day to make sure that those who have broken the law—these offenders and predators—are not out preying on other people.” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno Sgt. Hurd’s team has one big mission – to locate every transient convicted of a sex crime in the county – who fails to register. “Their information changes a lot. So, by the time I send my detectives out there, they go, they make contact, they relocate immediately,” explained the Sergeant. “So now we have to go back out there, look for them again, make contact with them again, confirm that information again. And then they relocate again.” By law, transient sex offenders and predators still must register. In fact, they must check in with law enforcement every 30 days and update their location. Their address could be under the overpass at Interstate 75 and Palm Beach Boulevard or hidden in the woods near your neighborhood. Homeless camp, Credit: WINK News “Walmart used to allow overnight parking. And that’s something that they utilize. That’s a loophole that they utilize,” stated Hurd. “We go out there at night, and we find them. We work with Walmart. We look at the security cameras.” Lionel Pastoriza listed just such an address. He was convicted of lewd and lascivious battery in 2007. LCSO launched a mission to track him down when he did not check in after December. “Because this particular transient offender, he doesn’t have a cell phone. So, we can’t call them and say, okay, harder to track down,” said Detective Corey Edmond. In March, Detective Corey Edmond learned Pastoriza had a car registered to him. Edmond used license plate readers to track down Pastoriza. License plate reader, Credit: WINK News Shawn Shaffer is also a convicted sex offender who deputies said tried to fly under the radar by lying about where he was staying. Eventually, they tracked him down to a relative’s home which was within 2,500 feet of Mariner Middle School in Cape Coral. To track sex offenders and predators living near you: Through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, you can register your address and set up alerts if someone moves within a one mile radius of your home or get an alert for a specific person. You can do a neighborhood search which allows you to identify people within up to a five mile radius. Transients are identified on the search map using tents. Blue means transient offender. Red is for transient predators. FDLE Sex Offender/Predator map Lazar attempted to contact the convicted men named in this article, but was unable to reach them.