Suspects in custody following Fort Myers armed robbery, crash

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Jose Solis, left, Jose Hernandez-Rivera, center, and Joshua Melendez, right. Photos via the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

FORT MYERS, Fla. Three suspects were taken into custody early Wednesday morning after an armed robbery led to a car crash near the intersection of Ortiz Avenue and Jupiter Road, law enforcement officials said.

Joshua Melendez, 29, Jose Hernandez-Rivera, 24, and Jose Solis, 38, were arrested following a two-vehicle crash involving a Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy car. The car sustained front end damage, according to law enforcement officials, but it’s not clear how the collision occurred.

The suspects fled the scene after Solis and Hernandez-Rivera robbed 31-year-old Jorge Rea at gunpoint at his Granada Boulevard home around 2 a.m., deputies said.

Once Rea gave Solis the $150 he demanded, he fired a round at Rea before escaping in a 2005 Nissan SUV, the sheriff’s office said.

While fleeing from the home, Melendez, who was driving the SUV, refused to stop for deputies who attempted to pull him over.

The suspects are in custody with no bond set.

Solis is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and armed robbery. While Hernandez-Rivera and Melendez are also facing armed robbery charges, Melendez has an additional charge of eluding deputies.

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