License plate reader in south Fort Myers leads deputies to stolen van, suspect

A license plate reader in south Fort Myers helped deputies catch the woman they say stole a minivan.

The Mercury minivan was taken Wednesday from a home on Gladiolus Drive. Later that day, the van was spotted on a license plate reader on San Carlos Boulevard. Responding deputies tried to stop the van, but the driver, identified as Ora Tejeda, sped away.

A sheriff’s office helicopter tracked the van to Quail Run Court off Iona Road. Tejeda ran when deputies approached her, but she was eventually caught.

Tejeda, 33, faces charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing and eluding, and resisting an officer without violence. She remains in the Lee County Jail.