City looks to stop history of crime at a Fort Myers apartment complex

One area of Fort Myers is so crime ridden, the police department has committed to showing up every single hour of every single day to curb violence.

A new study found the Jones Walker apartments is the No. 1 place for crime in Fort Myers.

City council likes what’s happening there the last several months and wants to keep it that way. That means supporting the new management company that’s already getting good reviews.

Crime scene tape and flashing lights were a common scene for too long at Jones Walker apartments.

“It was real bad when I got here because I didn’t want to go out,” tenant Lillian Rodriguez said. “It was horrible. Fights every day. Windows getting broken. Everything. You name it.”

In 2019, 48% of aggravated assaults happened in a very small sliver of the city. The center of that sliver was the Jones Walker complex.

City Councilman Johnny Streets said during a recent workshop the police can’t clean up Jones Walker alone. The new management company needs the full weight of the city behind it.

“No longer are we going to let it get to the point where it was before,” Streets said.

A mother still worries that the increased police presence is not permanent. The improvements at Jones Walker are obvious, but the mother told us there’s still a way to go before she feels safe during the day and at night. She says many of the tenants are those who cause much of the drama and fights at the complex, and she wants to see them removed.

That’s easier said than done. But we were told the new management group is weeding some people out during the renovation process.

The new management company took control over Jones Walker in January and immediately went to work on renovations. The company told us all the planned work is expected to be done by December.

Then, the city will work on a new security plan that will include cameras, a security guard and a gated entrance.

Tenants see positive change with new management at Jones Walker apartments