Who is man accused of shooting FMPD officer?

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Wisner Desmaret (Photo via Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office)

The father of a man accused of shooting Fort Myers Police officer Adam Jobbers-Miller is shedding light on the family’s citizenship.

“He’s not a citizen, he’s not a citizen. But he came legally. He had a visa, he came legally,” said Desmaret’s father John.

John said when Wisner was 10 years old, the family legally immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti on a visa.

MORE: Father of accused shooter of FMPD officer reacts to news of son’s arrest

Booking records show 20-year-old Wisner was held in the Glades County Jail on an detainer from Immigrations Customs Enforcement.

“There’s an issue there,” said Lawyer Michael Raheb

Raheb says it’s possible Desmaret may have overstayed his visa.

“You’ll find a majority of people that are in this country often times came here lawfully and often overstayed or their visa expired,” Raheb said.

The Glades County booking sheet shows Desmaret was detained in December 2008 and went to immigration court in Miami before being released from ICE custody in January 2009.

It’s unclear what happened at the hearing or why he was released, but Raheb gave WINK News some insight.

“Could’ve just been his lucky day, he was in there for a minor charge … and at the time in 2008, there were other things pending more serious and someone said why are we holding this poor soul who may be incompetent and not know what he was doing,” Raheb said.

After his release from ICE a decade ago, he was arrested a number of times in Lee County.

Raheb says local law enforcement are often too busy to call ICE about people in the country illegally.

“Places like Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, busy counties don’t have time for that to start calling ICE and frankly they wont,” Raheb said.

ICE filed a detainer on Desmaret this week after the shooting of officer Jobbers-Miller.

WINK News is still working to get answers on how he’s been able to remain in the U.S. so long with his arrest record.

Desmaret’s mental health

The man accused of shooting a Fort Myers Police officer has a lengthy record in crime and mental health issues.

“He’s been suffering with that for a long time period, a long period of time,” John said.

The last four times Desmaret was arrested in Lee County, judges say he wasn’t mentally competent to stand trial, according to the state attorney’s office.

After getting out of jail in 2016 in Lee County, Desmaret was arrested for drugs in Sarasota County.

During the case, he wrote an unusual letter to the court that talks about angels coming to save him.

“I wouldn’t say just that is an indication of psychosis,” said Dr. Michael Woulas said.

Dr. Woulas a mental health counselor reviewed the letter and Desmaret’s record.

While he didn’t think the letter showed clear signs of mental illness, his history says otherwise.

“I think that this is another example of somebody with severe mental health issues – that slips through the system,” Dr. Woulas said.

A Sarasota County judge did not file incompetency in that case and Desmaret was released on bond after he wrote the letter.

Three days later, Desmaret allegedly shot officer Jobbers-Miller.

MORE: FMPD names suspect accused of shooting Officer Jobbers-Miller

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