Lee County authorities investigate pair of crimes

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- Two crimes committed just miles apart are now under investigation.

Deputies say someone broke in to the P.F. Chang’s restaurant in Gulf Coast Town Center overnight. According to authorities, the burglar went through the roof, into the main office, and cut through the restaurant’s safe.

Around 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning, a delivery worker was shocked to find spray paint, all over the kitchen of the restaurant.

He called the manager, who found someone had also stolen money from their safe.

Around the same time deputies were called to P.F. Chang’s, a maintenance worker from the Hilton Garden Inn across the street had a gun to his chest.

“One of my maintenance workers, as he was coming into work, had two young men in hoodies try to take his car from him,” said manager Daryl Miesner.

The worker says the men threatened him with a gun, but he didn’t surrender.

“He’s Latino, so he was speaking Spanish. He said he didn’t understand and backed up until the two got in front of our video cameras, and he used that as more or less of his weapon if you will and said ‘smile, you are on camera,'” said Miesner.

The two men were able to get away. The maintenance worker is okay and still working Thursday.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is still trying to figure out if the crimes are related, but say they do not think they are.

Deputies are looking for the suspects in both crimes.