The latest from Lehigh Acres, Lee County: public safety, courts, local government, schools, business and the cost of living. Every story names its source and links the record.
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FGUA schedules an October 14 shutdown for eight customers at Gerald Avenue addresses 1402 to 1514. A precautionary boil water notice will follow the work.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office reported injuries and an eastbound closure after a two-vehicle crash at Lee Boulevard and 1st Street West on Tuesday night.
Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District received $4.2 million through FEMA's SAFER program to hire 21 new firefighters.
Lee County awarded a $1,528,750 contract to pave 94 Lehigh Acres road segments covering about 21.1 lane miles, with work expected to start in November.
Lee County jail records verify an arrest on an indecent-exposure charge after Gulf Coast News reported that a parent saw a man without pants near a Lehigh Acres child care center.
Lehigh Community Services says a $10,000 grant from Safeco Insurance and Liberty Mutual will launch the nonprofit's new Emergency Generator Fund.
A Lee County deputy struck a Lehigh Acres barbershop during a pursuit that ended in an arrest, Gulf Coast News reports. The sheriff's booking record lists three charges in the case.
Lee County jail records verify one arrest on seven charges after Gulf Coast News reported that two realtors were assaulted and robbed during a Lehigh Acres home showing. The outlet says four other people remain sought.
A Lee County deputy struck a Lehigh Acres barbershop during a pursuit that ended with an arrest. The county booking record lists three traffic-related charges.
Gulf Coast News reports that an FHP pursuit in Lehigh Acres ended when a vehicle overturned after a PIT maneuver. One passenger went to a hospital, and two people were arrested.
Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers lists a 22 year old Lehigh Acres man as wanted by the Lee County Sheriff's Office on armed robbery, armed burglary and aggravated battery charges.
A state pollution filing says about 2,000 gallons of liquid chlorine escaped containment at a Lehigh Acres wastewater plant. The release was stopped, and no waterway or storm drain was affected.
FGUA says 40 Lehigh Acres customers near 1425 Graham Circle remain under a boil water advisory after crews repaired an eight inch main break.
Lee County commissioners paused CPA2026-00005, the countywide plan rewrite that includes Lehigh Acres, and removed it from the October 7 meeting calendar.
Two local outlets report that a woman died after heavy equipment entered water at Bell Mine off State Road 82. Lee County deputies recovered her body, and state and federal investigations were continuing.
All lanes are open after an injury crash blocked eastbound Lee Boulevard at Harry Avenue North in Lehigh Acres, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
FGUA says 46 Lehigh Acres customers near Graham Circle remain under a boil water advisory after an eight inch main break was repaired.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office says deputies arrested a man after a Monday confrontation on Lake Avenue in Lehigh Acres. The agency says another man shot him after a pickaxe attack.
A mother told WINK News that her 11-year-old son was the person taken to a hospital after Wednesday's school bus crash near Homestead Road and Sunrise Boulevard. She said he is recovering at home.
Money & World has withdrawn its unsupported statement that a student was taken to a hospital after Wednesday's Lehigh Acres school-bus crash.
Rocco Nicholas Ruzzo was adjudicated guilty and sentenced on Wednesday to 40 years in prison for a 2024 shooting in Lehigh Acres. A jury convicted him in May.
Florida Highway Patrol records show a pedestrian died after Tuesday's crash at Lee Boulevard and Archdale Street in Lehigh Acres. The road is clear.
Sheriff Steve Whidden presented the video at a September 1 news conference. His office says Young fired at deputies during an August 29 traffic stop on State Road 29 before a deputy returned fire. Young died after he was taken to a hospital.
A judge found probable cause on four charges at Saturday's first appearance, and the state moved for pretrial detention. The Sheriff's Office has since published the same four charges under its own name. Longin has not been tried or convicted.
Sheriff Marceno announced the arrest of Whycliff Longin at a Friday news conference. The Sheriff's Office says a woman was found dead of blunt force trauma on Haviland Avenue Thursday. Two newsrooms covering that conference give different charge lists. Longin has not been convicted.
WINK News reported the investigation this morning and has a crew at the scene. The Sheriff's Office says it is ongoing, that there is no threat to the public, and that more will follow later Thursday. It has not said what it is investigating.
Neighbours on Sixth Street West have watched a fire damaged home sit behind caution tape since January, Gulf Coast News reports. Lee County says a notice of violation went to the owner, who has not responded and has pulled no permit.
The Lehigh Acres Fire Department says crews responded to a crash involving a car and a school bus in the area of East 8th Street and Joel Boulevard. One student was on board and no injuries were reported.
Deputies say they found a fighting ring on Westwood Acres Road on Friday while clearing a burning mobile home, and a second setup in a Lehigh Acres backyard on Sunday. About 136 birds were removed. Two men face the same third degree felony charge.
The state dispatch board took a crash with injuries in the 3500 block of 53rd Street West at 8.46 this evening, dispatched at 10.07 and now records a unit arrived at 10.38. The traffic effect is still an unknown roadblock.
Lee County jail records show a third booking over the Ichabod Avenue robbery: Willie Keshawn Bell, 22, joining Ivan Tyrek Prudent, 22. The third person booked on the same four counts is 16, and his case is listed in juvenile court. Nothing has been proved.
Gulf Coast News reports Lee County deputies were sent to Sunshine Boulevard North at Ida Avenue North at 11.35 p.m. Wednesday and found a pedestrian hit by a car. The pedestrian was taken to hospital and the road has reopened.
Gulf Coast News reports the Lehigh Acres Fire Department was sent to a Scenic Street home shortly after 6.40 a.m. Wednesday, found the garage on fire, and had it under control before 7.50 a.m. Nobody was hurt.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office says Desmond Garlin, 18, and Jared Williams, 19, were arrested Wednesday over the July 10 shooting that wounded four at a Lehigh Acres house party. Both are charged with attempted second-degree murder. Corrected and updated from an earlier version.
WINK News reports the fire broke out at 104 Fifth Avenue at 6.33 p.m., that firefighters put it out and confirmed nobody was inside after initial reports the homeowner was trapped, and that Fire Marshal Matthew Brennan says the cause is under investigation.
Gulf Coast News reports crews battling a house fire on Fifth Avenue in Lehigh Acres, with the home reported clear of potential victims and an investigator on the way to determine the cause.
The state attorney's office says the jury returned guilty verdicts on all seven counts after a four day trial, among them human trafficking, familial sexual battery and two counts of possession of child pornography. Sentencing is September 28.
Gulf Coast News reported at 5.09 p.m. on Wednesday that the fire district attributes the fire to lightning. The fire is out and no injuries have been reported. The district has not said how badly the house was damaged.
WINK News reports the outage began on Monday July 20 and covers six separate addresses on the company outage map. Customers say daily texts have promised restoration for almost two weeks.
This site reported the same outage on Tuesday at more than 200 households. WINK News returned on Friday and put the figure on the company's own map at more than 5,200, eleven days after service dropped, with no restoration date.
Deputies canvassed 20th Street Southwest on Thursday. The sheriff's office says its Major Crimes Unit is still working and will not say more, and it has not tied the warrants to the homicide.
There is a large law enforcement presence on 21st Street Southwest in Lehigh Acres on Wednesday evening, July 29, after a search warrant was served.
Neighbours in Lehigh Acres have been without internet for eight days after a third-party contractor damaged multiple sections of Quantum Fiber's fibre optic cables, WINK News reported Tuesday.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office has reclassified the death investigation it opened in a Lehigh Acres neighborhood on Monday, July 27 near the 4500 block of SW 22nd Street.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office confirmed that deputies were on scene conducting an active death investigation in a Lehigh Acres neighborhood at about 11:45 a.m. on Monday, July 27, near the 4500 block of SW 22nd Street.
Set at the county level, and it lands on every parcel in Lehigh Acres.
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Lee County ends its 5 a.m. summer trash set-out requirement October 26 for unincorporated areas, Bonita Springs, Estero and Fort Myers Beach.
What it changes →
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Sanibel Fire and Rescue District adopted a tentative 1.3016-mill property tax rate and a $30,853,878 fiscal 2027 budget. The final hearing is September 21.
What it changes →
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The School Board of Lee County approved a $3.055 billion fiscal 2027 budget and cut its total property tax rate to 5.271 mills, down 0.048 mill from fiscal 2026.
What it changes →
