Juvenile and 18-year-old arrested for stealing, burglarizing multiple cars in DeSoto CountyImmokalee man arrested for child porn possession
ARCADIA Juvenile and 18-year-old arrested for stealing, burglarizing multiple cars in DeSoto County A juvenile and an 18-year-old have been arrested after allegedly stealing several cars and burglarizing them in DeSoto County.
IMMOKALEE Immokalee man arrested for child porn possession An Immokalee man has been arrested and charged on ten felony counts after allegedly being in possession of child pornography.
ESTERO Caught on Camera: Teen catches alligator while fishing for Peacock Bass A 15-year-old teenager from Estero bit off more than he could chew while fishing for Peacock Bass as a hungry alligator chased after the fish and him.
Gainsville Streaming Now: Gov. DeSantis holds news conference in Gainsville Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Gainsville.
The Weather Authority Hotter and drier Wednesday with a few inland storms this afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild and drier Wednesday morning with rain expected inland this afternoon.
Cape Coral City Council to discuss repairs for yacht club pier The Cape Coral City Council will discuss and possibly decide upon three options to repair the damaged yacht club pier.
LEHIGH ACRES Kitchen fire causes substantial damage to a home in Lehigh Acres The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue responded to a kitchen fire at a Sunset Boulevard home on Tuesday night.
FORT MYERS Lee County making changes to fix bus issues In the past, the Lee County School District struggled to find enough bus drivers.
NAPLES Naples man gets original Bob Ross paintings appraised Bob Ross took this blank canvas in a small studio in Muncie, Indiana, and transformed it into a beautiful masterpiece.
Lee Schools board considers full-day phone bans The biggest talking point in a Lee County School District safety presentation wasn’t about violence or drugs, it was about phones
PORT CHARLOTTE Fallen officer ceremony in Charlotte County commemorates those who lost lives in line of duty The emotional ceremony was held at the William R. Gains Veterans Memorial Park in Port Charlotte.
SAN CARLOS PARK Lee County couple suspected of drugging and sexually abusing child Neighbors say a home in San Carlos Park was just another house before Tuesday.
PINE ISLAND FDOT asking you if bike and pedestrian lanes should be added to busy road The Florida Department of Transportation is asking you if bike and pedestrian lanes should be added to the busy road.
Food drive for mental health awareness While someone may look healthy, they may be fighting a real inner battle.
FORT MYERS Overbilled for overflow of water; Residents stuck with hefty water bill The Moore’s make ends meet living at The Cove for almost a year.
ARCADIA Juvenile and 18-year-old arrested for stealing, burglarizing multiple cars in DeSoto County A juvenile and an 18-year-old have been arrested after allegedly stealing several cars and burglarizing them in DeSoto County.
IMMOKALEE Immokalee man arrested for child porn possession An Immokalee man has been arrested and charged on ten felony counts after allegedly being in possession of child pornography.
ESTERO Caught on Camera: Teen catches alligator while fishing for Peacock Bass A 15-year-old teenager from Estero bit off more than he could chew while fishing for Peacock Bass as a hungry alligator chased after the fish and him.
Gainsville Streaming Now: Gov. DeSantis holds news conference in Gainsville Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Gainsville.
The Weather Authority Hotter and drier Wednesday with a few inland storms this afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild and drier Wednesday morning with rain expected inland this afternoon.
Cape Coral City Council to discuss repairs for yacht club pier The Cape Coral City Council will discuss and possibly decide upon three options to repair the damaged yacht club pier.
LEHIGH ACRES Kitchen fire causes substantial damage to a home in Lehigh Acres The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue responded to a kitchen fire at a Sunset Boulevard home on Tuesday night.
FORT MYERS Lee County making changes to fix bus issues In the past, the Lee County School District struggled to find enough bus drivers.
NAPLES Naples man gets original Bob Ross paintings appraised Bob Ross took this blank canvas in a small studio in Muncie, Indiana, and transformed it into a beautiful masterpiece.
Lee Schools board considers full-day phone bans The biggest talking point in a Lee County School District safety presentation wasn’t about violence or drugs, it was about phones
PORT CHARLOTTE Fallen officer ceremony in Charlotte County commemorates those who lost lives in line of duty The emotional ceremony was held at the William R. Gains Veterans Memorial Park in Port Charlotte.
SAN CARLOS PARK Lee County couple suspected of drugging and sexually abusing child Neighbors say a home in San Carlos Park was just another house before Tuesday.
PINE ISLAND FDOT asking you if bike and pedestrian lanes should be added to busy road The Florida Department of Transportation is asking you if bike and pedestrian lanes should be added to the busy road.
Food drive for mental health awareness While someone may look healthy, they may be fighting a real inner battle.
FORT MYERS Overbilled for overflow of water; Residents stuck with hefty water bill The Moore’s make ends meet living at The Cove for almost a year.
FILE Photo of former Punta Gorda Police Officer Lee Coel and Librarian Mary Knowlton from December 2016. Credit: WINK News. PUNTA GORDA, Fla. State investigators found no evidence that a former Punta Gorda police officer intended to shoot and kill a retired librarian during a citizen’s academy class. ‘There is no evidence that officer Coel intended to use lethal ammunition,” the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a report released Wednesday. “It is apparent that officer Coel’s and others inability to differentiate between blank firing cartridges and .38 caliber ammunition resulted in Mary Knowlton’s death.” Officer Lee Coel is charged with felony first-degree manslaughter for killing 73-year-old Mary Knowlton during the August 2016 training exercise. Police Chief Tom Lewis, who is facing a misdemeanor second-degree culpable negligence charge for the incident, was placed on paid leave. Coel was fired March 9 and has until March 24 to appeal the termination. He has yet to do so, a city spokeswoman said. Blanks vs. real bullets Punta Gorda police Lt. Katie Heck said she “probably” gave Coel a box of live ammunition, thinking they were blanks, the report said. The blanks and lethal bullets are “similar in shape and size,” but neither resembled the bullets used in Coel’s service weapon, the report said. Coel, who was playing a suspect in the exercise, used his personal weapon, a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver, instead of his department-issued handgun, the report said. Knowlton, who was playing a police officer in the training exercise, was given a bright blue simulation gun and “soap bullets.” Lewis, the police chief, and another officer showed Knowlton how to use the gun, witness Michele Olsen said, according to the report. Participants were not given any safety precautions, nor were any safety checks conducted, said Deborah Malinoski, according to the report. Knowlton turned nervously to John Robert Wright, who told her to “give them hell,” the report said. Four shots Knowlton approached Coel while raising her weapon. “What are you doing,” she said. Coel, who was on one side of a police vehicle, jumped to the other side and fired four times: One bullet ricocheted off the hood of a police vehicle and struck Knowlton in the stomach area. Another also struck the hood first before hitting her in the left elbow. The other two hit a vehicle. She turned away from Coel, fell on her knees, and then on her face. The group thought she was playing along with the exercise. Wright thought she had a heart attack. “Stay with us, stay with us, get paramedics,” Olsen remembered Lewis saying, according to the report. Knowlton’s husband, Gary, was 10 feet away from her when she was hit, the FDLE said. He and many of the officers present initially believed she was playing along with the training scenario when she went down. Then he turned her over and saw blood all over her, the FDLE said. Life-saving attempt John Robert Kennedy, a Punta Gorda marine patrol officer, was filling out a timecard when he heard the shots. He went outside and saw a bullet hole in an unmarked police vehicle. He followed the ambulance to Lee Memorial Hospital. She flatlined three times while en route. When Knowlton’s husband, Gary, arrived at the hospital, she had flatlined for the final time. She was pronounced dead at 7:25 p.m. It was the shot to the stomach that killed her, said the report, which referred to an autopsy that ruled the incident accidental. It’s been loaded before? This isn’t the first time Coel brought his own handgun to a shooting demonstration. Coel has used his person gun at least four different times, and in two of those instances, the other officers training with him believed the gun may have been loaded, the FDLE said. One of those times was on July 26, exactly two weeks to the day before Coel shot and killed Knowlton. Coel was involved in a training scenario at the Charlotte County Gun Range when a deputy heard gunfire and “thought he saw dust or a disturbance on the ground,” according to the report. He asked a fellow deputy if he saw that and said “he thought he saw the ground moving as well.” Later that day, Coel participated in another training scenario where a deputy claimed he “saw saw dirt fly up where Coel was pointing the firearm both down range and at the top of the berm,” the report said. Numerous other incidents were also cited in the report, but it’s unclear whether Coel’s gun contained live rounds. WINK News investigative reporter Dave Culbreth has more details: Submit Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.