North Fort Myers man wanted for child abuse arrested thanks to Crime Stoppers tip

Reporter: Rich Kolko Writer: Joey Pellegrino
Published: Updated:
Bryan Vega Martinez

A man wanted for child abuse since October 2020 was found and arrested Thursday morning thanks to a tip sent to Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers.

Within hours of receiving the tip, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals arrested North Fort Myers resident Bryan Vega Martinez, 29, in connection with an outstanding warrant for two counts of willful child abuse.

He had been on the run since Oct. 12, 2020, when he violated probation following an arrest for hitting a 14-month-old baby in the face to make it stop crying while caring for it.

Trish Routte with Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers speaking on the arrest, said, “Instead of being responsible for what he did, owning up and being responsible for what he did like a man should do, he took off like a coward.”

Vega was also featured on WINK News’ Most Wanted Wednesday segment in December.

Routte added, “That one small tip can make a difference and we see that every single Wednesday when you put those guys out there, and gals who are wanted from the law. people respond, people share that information and as a result, a good number of them end up going to jail for it.’

If you know anything about the location of a wanted suspect, you can leave an anonymous tip with Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8477 or on their website. Callers will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000.

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