Man accused of burglarizing several businesses in Fort Myers

A crime spree came to an end Sunday night after deputies arrested a man they found hiding in some bushes.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrested 42-year-old Mitchell Williams after he allegedly robbed multiple businesses along Palm Beach Boulevard on Sunday night.

Deputies said he smashed the door at a Dairy Queen, robbed the register at Palm Beach Pizza and damaged property at Oscar’s Handy Pantry.

“The whole cash register had been stolen, like ripped straight out, like wires, and all just ripped out,” said Bethany Hunt, owner of Palm Beach Pizza. “He took the whole thing.”

She said she’s no stranger to dealing with these issues.

“We’ve been there for two years. It hasn’t been very long,” said Hunt. “It’s honestly, it’s been pretty rough. It’s a rough area. We’ve had some issues in the past, with homeless, kind of like vagrant people in the parking lot and issues like that.”

LCSO said the suspect also hit up Dairy Queen and Oscar’s Handy Pantry, breaking windows and glass doors.

Deputies caught up with Williams after running through a neighborhood and finding him hiding in a bush.

With Williams in custody, Hunt is focused on moving forward.

“I’m a mom. I’ve got four kids and running a couple of pizza shops, and we’re doing everything we can to bring pizza to the area, and all the support we could use from the community would be super helpful,” said Hunt.

Williams faces multiple charges, including burglary, resisting arrest and damage to property.

Williams is still in jail on bond as of Monday night.