Snowbird says suspects took car on joyride, stayed at his home

Crooks are accused of invading an empty townhome. A man who splits his time between Illinois and Southwest Florida says he feels violated.

Frank Warga lives in suburban Chicago but winters in Fort Myers — a perfect setup until 3 a.m. Monday when police pounded on his door.

“They came over here to tell me that something had happened with my car,” Warga said.

Warga says Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested two suspects for taking a joyride in his car.

“It’s upsetting, yes, and the car was pretty nice, and now it’s been crashed,” Warga said.

That’s just the start of Warga’s troubles. It turns out his townhouse is also trashed, his window shattered, his beds slept in and his garage empty.

Warga told us it must be the same people who took his car.

“It’s just a lot of aggravation, especially this long-distance stuff,” Warga said.

Stacey Murray is a friend of Warga’s, who lives down the street from his home.

“Just to have somebody go through your stuff makes you feel uncomfortable,” Murray said. “We noticed in his room was a pair of flip flops, some underwear and some shorts they left on the floor. We asked Frank and we sent him pictures and said is this your stuff? And Frank said, ‘No. These are not ours.’ We looked at it, and it just didn’t look like Frank’s type of clothing.”

Warga told us he’s still visiting for the winter. He has a plan when it’s time to return to Chicago.

“Take the battery out of your car and give it to someone while you’re gone,” Warga said.