LCSO

The Florida Ethics Commission said Wednesday it rejected the recommendation of its advocate and found no probable cause to believe that Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno accepted a gift of furniture that exceeded $100 from a prohibited donor or, as an alternative, that he failed to report the furniture as a gift.

Growing concerns over license plate readers could surface in Collier County today during the September meeting of the Board of County Commissioners with residents being urged to sign up to speak and make their views known about the information-collecting devices.

When the Florida Commission on Ethics issued its press release on the status of its cases Wednesday, conspicuously missing was the complaint filed against Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno by his former close pal Ken Romano.

In a stunning turn, Ken Romano has requested that his ethics complaint against Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno alleging undisclosed gifts and unlawful kickbacks be withdrawn, the Florida Trident has learned.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno is due in Tallahassee on Friday for a hearing regarding a second Florida Commission on Ethics investigation into him and his department, the Florida Trident has learned.

A Fort Myers man will serve four consecutive five-year prison sentences in a case involving severed cat heads and stalking activities.

The southbound lanes of I-75 are open Thursday morning after being shutdown Wednesday afternoon and evening during and after an incident involving law enforcement. The Florida Highway Patrol and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to an alert involving the suspect in a fatal shooting in St. Petersburg that was concluded on the freeway at Alico Road exit 128.

The federal corruption investigation against him was terminated last November, but Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno faces a new inquiry into some of the same allegations — this time by the Florida Ethics Commission. Editor's note: Watch WGCU's Southwest Florida In Focus tonight for a special interview with Florida Trident's Bob Norman on the Carmine Marceno case.

President Donald Trump has shared a video of a deadly attack at a Florida gas station, using it to justify his mass deportation agenda. Rolbert Joachin, 40, is charged with killing a woman on April 2 in Fort Myers. Trump and the Department of Homeland Security said Joachin is from Haiti. Critics argue Trump unfairly paints immigrants as criminals. Joachin reportedly confessed and is set for arraignment on May 4. Trump blames President Biden for granting Joachin Temporary Protected Status. This status allows immigrants from troubled countries to stay temporarily in the U.S., a policy Trump has criticized.

A Cessna Stationair HD plane crashed on take-off from the Salty Approach Air Strip on the northern tip of Upper Captiva Saturday.