Carjacking suspect arrested after jumping into North Fort Myers lake to avoid deputies

A suspect was arrested in a Lehigh Acres carjacking that happened late Monday.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office says Daniel Monforto demanded money from the victim and beat him before stealing his SUV on 7th Street SW.

The vehicle was later found at a gas station in North Fort Myers, and deputies tried to stop it, but Monforto kept driving. He ditched the SUV, continued running and jumped into a lake in the area of Lakeview Drive. He stayed in the water for several hours, refusing to get out, before deputies arrested him.

“Even with my black out curtains, I could see all the lights going off, and it scared me,” Erma Reining said.

Reining and her neighbors have homes along the lake Monforto is accused of jumping into while trying to get away from law enforcement.

“There was a bunch of people out around back by the water, so I knew something big was going on,” Reining explained.

Sarah Shoaff’s home is near where investigators say Monforto started to run away on foot in the North Fort Myers neighborhood.

“We went out back on to the deck, and we got a glimpse of him when he was running that way,” Shoaff said.

Monforto eventually made it to a lake, where he jumped in and spent hours trying to get away from deputies.

“Why the guy jumped in the lake, I don’t know where he thought he was going, but it’s only a little lake,” Shoaff said.

“I’m stunned,” Reining said. “This is such a quiet neighborhood, and it’s just crazy. Who does that?”

Neighbors say some property was damaged in the chase. Although they are glad deputies caught the man, they say it made for a long and noisy night.

“All kinds of people, helicopters, lights on the water out there,” Reining said. “It was a zoo. It was chaos.”

Monforto, 35, remains in the Lee County Jail, facing charges of flee and elude, and robbery – carjacking. A judge on Wednesday set his bail at $125,000.

A second suspect was also arrested in the case. Kiara Salter, 28 and homeless, according to jail records, is facing a charge of resisting arrest. She was released Wednesday from the Lee County Jail on $1,500 bond. It’s unclear how she is connected to Monforto.