Apple AirPods lead LCSO to an arrest ; over $100,000 worth of stolen items recoveredHendry County rolls out cameras for new school zone safety program
FORT MYERS Apple AirPods lead LCSO to an arrest ; over $100,000 worth of stolen items recovered Through the use of Apple Airpods, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate nearly $100,000 worth of stolen items, leading to an arrest.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for new school zone safety program The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral officials approve replacement funding for hurricane-damaged stop signs The Cape Coral City Council has approved funding to replace stop signs damaged during Hurricane Milton, resulting in an emergency purchase.
Holiday events happening in Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is embracing the holiday spirit with a variety of festive events this Christmas season.
Collier man accused of supplying fentanyl-laced pills, enough to kill 531,500 people The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of supplying more than 10,000 fentanyl-laced pills disguised as prescription painkillers.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral council supports construction of I-75 interchange into city The Cape Coral City Council has approved a resolution requesting support from Lee and Charlotte counties to prioritize state and federal funding for the Interstate 75 Interchange at Slater Road.
PUNTA GORDA Crews removing derelict boats from Gilchrist Park Crews are working to remove derelict boats from Gilchrist Park after several of them washed ashore during Hurricane Milton in October.
33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County Another Florida panther has been killed by a vehicle, this time in Hardee County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 33 for 2024.
the weather authority Cool and breezy for your Thursday afternoon After waking up to a cold morning, the Weather Authority is tracking warming conditions to the low 70s this Thursday.
Police release threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
FORT MYERS Apple AirPods lead LCSO to an arrest ; over $100,000 worth of stolen items recovered Through the use of Apple Airpods, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate nearly $100,000 worth of stolen items, leading to an arrest.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for new school zone safety program The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral officials approve replacement funding for hurricane-damaged stop signs The Cape Coral City Council has approved funding to replace stop signs damaged during Hurricane Milton, resulting in an emergency purchase.
Holiday events happening in Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is embracing the holiday spirit with a variety of festive events this Christmas season.
Collier man accused of supplying fentanyl-laced pills, enough to kill 531,500 people The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of supplying more than 10,000 fentanyl-laced pills disguised as prescription painkillers.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral council supports construction of I-75 interchange into city The Cape Coral City Council has approved a resolution requesting support from Lee and Charlotte counties to prioritize state and federal funding for the Interstate 75 Interchange at Slater Road.
PUNTA GORDA Crews removing derelict boats from Gilchrist Park Crews are working to remove derelict boats from Gilchrist Park after several of them washed ashore during Hurricane Milton in October.
33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County Another Florida panther has been killed by a vehicle, this time in Hardee County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 33 for 2024.
the weather authority Cool and breezy for your Thursday afternoon After waking up to a cold morning, the Weather Authority is tracking warming conditions to the low 70s this Thursday.
Police release threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
Dylan Wray Moon was arrested on Monday and charged with several grand theft charges and scheme to defraud charges. RELATED: Contractor accused of stealing money after not completing work in Cape Coral Lisa Greenberg of the Cape Coral Police Department said Moon stole thousands of dollars. “This is just a situation where it’s a contractor who’s agreed to do multiple jobs and didn’t complete any of them or return the money,” Greenberg said. In 2022, Cape PD started getting reports regarding Moon. They opened an investigation and went forward with charges from three victims. Since the arrest, they have heard from others. “Since we publicized his arrest on Monday, we’ve had at least two more reports come in to our department about Moon with similar situations. And of course, we are getting people who are commenting on the Facebook page and calling our department as well,” Greenberg said. Since the arrest, WINK News has also gotten messages from several people claiming Moon took their money. On Tuesday, we met Michele Belmont, who signed a contract with Moon in 2022. She lost $33,000 and never got a dock. RELATED: Victim of alleged dock builder fraud shares her story On Wednesday, WINK News met Lindsey Lagasse, another previous customer of Moon who had a very similar story to Belmont. She described the day she signed the contract, which WINK News Reporter Olivia Jean saw. “He drove up in a Rusnell Construction van and said he was Mr. Rusnell. I said back to him, ‘Oh, great. I said, I think there’s other docks on my block you built?’ And he said, Yeah, I probably have,” Lagasse recalled. Moon impersonated his boss and gave a false name. Shortly after the contract was signed, Moon never worked on the dock. Lagasse said she was in communication with Moon, until he stopped communications. “He had called me back, and he said, ‘I didn’t plan on building your dock anyhow. FU, and you’ll never get your money back. You’ll never see it again. So try it, try it. Try reporting me, it’ll never work.’ He was very confident about it, so I call the sheriff immediately,” said Lagasse. The Sheriff’s office came to Lagasse’s home and spoke with her. An officer then went to the bank with her to see if she could get her money back. Turns out, Moon’s girlfriend had already cashed the check. “I feel as though that they should have looked him up better than that,” Lagasse said. She said if the Lee County Sheriff’s Office did something about Moon in 2019, then maybe he would’ve been stopped. “I begged them to follow up. These other people wouldn’t have lost so much money,” Lagasse said. Lagasse claims Moon took $12,000 from her back in 2019, which means he has been doing this for years. Lagasse said she went to the actual Mr. Rusnell, the one who owns the dock company, to tell him about Moon impersonating him. Mr. Rusnell confirmed this meeting back in 2019 to WINK. Rusnell said Moon worked for him, and he apologized to Lagasse and then built her dock himself. After hearing about the impersonation, Rusnell fired Moon, and Moon has not been associated with the company since. Lagasse paid $12,000 to Moon, then paid more money to Rusnell. She has a dock now, making her luckier than others, but still out thousands of dollars. “I just seen his picture in the news last night, and I said, ‘Oh, my God, that’s the same guy. He’s doing the same thing. He’s been, he’s probably been going around doing the same thing to everybody,’ but there are a group of people that are too embarrassed to even let people know that they’ve been used like that,” Lagasse said. That group of embarrassed people does exist, but the Cape Coral Police Department is asking them to come forward. “Please don’t be embarrassed to come forward,” Greenberg said. “If you’re someone who’s lost thousands of dollars to a suspect like this, we want to be able to take on your case, investigate and potentially bring that person to justice for you. We’re not able to do that if we don’t have that information from you.” She continued to say, “We are seeing multiple people who are filing cases related to this same suspect, so you’re not alone. We want to be able to help you.” Cape Coral PD believes there are plenty more victims, and they have a message for them. “File a police report if you’re in a situation where you’ve paid for work, signed contracts and it’s not being done. That is a good first step to see if this is something that our department can work with you on to try to bring justice,” Greenberg said. The police department also gave some advice when hiring contractors. Make sure the person you are considering is a licensed contractor Negotiate a smaller payment upfront or payment installments as the work is being done Pay in a form that is traceable (so, no cash) Get referrals If you have a similar story regarding Moon, please email olivia.jean@winknews.com.