Planned Punta Gorda hotel, pub, brewery faces construction delayMan accused of pulling gun on someone ordering at Collier County Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru
Mervin Nicolas This week we featured Mervin Nicholas on WINK News’ Most Wanted Wednesday, and right after it aired, a tip was received from a viewer like you that led to his arrest. Nicholas was wanted for failure to register as a sexual offender. He was convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior for harassing a 13-year-old girl at the apartment complex where they both lived. According to deputies, while the victim was walking home one day, Nicholas pulled her into his apartment and tried to rape her, while committing lewd acts. His guilty verdict led to him being adjudicated as a registered sexual offender, meaning he has to keep in touch with law enforcement to let them know his whereabouts – which he has refused to do in the last month. Trish Routte with the Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers said, “Anytime you have a sex offender at large, it’s of paramount importance to track them down quickly. All it took was for one tipster to see Most Wanted Wednesday and pick up the phone to let us know where he was staying. That kind of quick turnaround is exactly the kind of reaction that helps keep our streets safe. Law enforcement was on-the-ready to follow up on that Crime Stoppers tip, and now police know exactly where Mr. Nicolas is! This is just one more example of how the partnership between Most Wanted Wednesday, Crime Stoppers and the community works.” In addition to failure to register, Nicolas has also been busted for battery and aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, when he grabbed the woman by her hair in the heat of an argument, punched her in the face, pulled her to the ground and dragged her into the bedroom, where he continued to punch her in the face four more times. SERIES: See all of the Most Wanted Wanted fugitives and see if you recognize anyone!