Lehigh Acres hit-and-run suspect has bond held at $301,000

The man accused of hitting a mother and son with his truck and driving away made his first appearance with a judge on Sunday morning.

Courtney Masterson, 42, was arrested Saturday near his home in Lehigh Acres. The suspect, Masterson, has bond held at $301,000. It is for two counts of Deadly Hit-and-Run, with $100,000 on each count; two counts of Damage of Property and Leaving the Scene, with $50,000 for both counts; and one count of Failure to Register a Motor Vehicle, with $1,000 for that count.

Masterson hit both Kathy Cujas, 46, and Ronnie Cujas, 26, according to investigators, with the suspect’s red pickup truck. Florida Highway Patrol made his arrest a top priority, having spent over 10 hours at the crime scene.

Kathy met her son Ronnie along State Road 82 on Friday morning to help fix her son’s blown tire. Then, they were sideswiped by the suspect’s truck, which killed them both. FHP said they found the suspect because of a number of tips sent out as early as Saturday. But it is one tip that came through to SWFL Crime Stoppers that broke the case, leading investigators to that Dodge at Masterson’s home and his arrest.

Masterson made an appearance at 8:30 a.m. at the Lee County courthouse. In attendance was Masterson’s wife of 18 years, his three children and his father, who flew in from Oklahoma. While FHP made an arrest and found the suspected pickup truck in the incident, the government agency’s work is not done yet. Now, FHP is urging people to stay on the scene if you are involved in a crash.

“Should you leave, regardless of whether you’re at fault or not, that is now a crime scene, and you’ve committed a criminal act, and that’s whether it’s property damage injury or death,” said Lt. Greg Bueno, with FHP. “That one phone call, staying on the scene could potentially save someone’s life.”