Fort Myers police find loaded gun in child’s bedroom

FORT MYERS, Fla. A loaded .357 Taurus revolver found in a small child’s bedroom was among a dozen illegal firearms the Fort Myers Police Department recovered between Friday and Sunday last week.

Five people were arrested at four scenes throughout the city, police said.

A two-month long investigation led to the arrests of Imari Ranisha Colon, 24, and Jessie Powell, 24, after officers found the revolver in the child’s bedroom at an apartment on 3036 Franklin St., according to police.

The arrests were related to a search warrant police obtained after nearby residents said drug dealing was going on in the apartment. Officers seized about 300 grams of marijuana and 16 grams of ecstasy from the home.

The child wasn’t there when police found the gun and the drugs.

Charges for Colon and Powell are pending an ongoing investigation, police said.

Gunfire at another apartment led police to five guns and 13 pounds of heroin. Latroy Deshawn Pender, a 36-year-old convicted felon, was arrested after police found the following items at his home on 5320 Summerlin Road, Apartment 2:

• .22-caliber Ruger revolver
• Phoenix Arms .22-caliber long rifle pistol
• .38 Special revolver
• Derringer .38 Special revolver
• Smith & Wesson .357 revolver
• 159 rounds of ammunition
• 13 grams of heroin
• $3,000 cash
• Digital scale and drug paraphernalia

Pender, who’s accused of shooting at his ex-girlfriend, is facing charges of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon, heroin trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Another man was arrested early Sunday outside the Vegas Lounge on 2158 Colonial Blvd. with a loaded North American Arms .22 magnum sticking out of his pocket, police said. Officers also found a loaded FHN Five Seven semi-automatic pistol, a loaded Bush Master .223-caliber AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, and valium and oxycodone pills inside the man’s car.

The man, 30-year-old Fletcher Deon Jackson, is facing charges of violating open-carry laws and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.

A second man was arrested at roughly the same time in the Vegas Lounge parking lot after an officer found a loaded Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver inside his car. Ashton Devan McPhee, 30, is facing a charge of carrying a concealed firearm without a license.

A Friday traffic stop at Fowler Street and Carrell Road led to the recovery of a loaded Taurus PT 111 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun and a loaded Smith & Wesson M+P .40-caliber semi-automatic rifle from the car of Demon Jamaol Speed, 33, police said. The Smith & Wesson had been stolen.

Speed was arrested and is facing charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and carrying a concealed weapon without a license.

Members of the department’s Gang Suppression Unit, an outfit Chief Derrick Diggs recently credited with the likely prevention of five mass shootings in a two-month period, conducted the traffic stop, police said.

“The seizure of this many weapons in just three days, especially without incident or injury, clearly demonstrates the professionalism and commitment our officers display every single day as we keep our community safe,” Lt. Jay Rodriguez said.