Man arrested for stolen construction items, LCSO says

Writer: Melissa Montoya
Published:
Elvis Fonseca Lara (CREDIT: Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

A 34-year-old Lehigh Acres man was arrested after Lee County deputies found stolen construction items in his home.

Elvis Fonseca Lara became a suspect in a string of thefts after a victim reported several kitchen appliances stolen, according to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office news release.

One of them had a tracking device that pinged at Fonseca Lara’s home in the area of 9th Street West in Lehigh Acres.

Detectives searched the home and found 20 water systems, including one from the burglary they were investigating, inside his garage.

They also found numerous construction materials in his backyard.

The items found matched the description of stolen appliances dating back to Jan. 19.

Detectives located:

  • 22 water system pressure tanks
  • 16 water system salt tanks
  • 27 water system softeners
  • 3 water system aerators
  • 22 buckets of paint
  • 1 refrigerator
  • 1 kitchen stove
  • Kitchen cabinets

Fonseca Lara admitted the equipment was his.

He was arrested and charged with six counts of grand theft, two counts of unoccupied burglary and one count of unoccupied burglary to a structure.

LCSO said between Nov. 3, 2020 and mid-March there have been 20 water system thefts in the East district of the county.

Fonseca Lara could face additional charges.

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