Man arrested after barricading himself inside a Fort Myers McDonald’s

A man is now in jail after shooting at law enforcement then barricading himself inside of a McDonald’s.

Lee County Sheriff’s deputies say Marlon Illescas is the man who fired shots at officers and fled into McDonald’s. Now, WINK News has learned that Illescas, 41, was trying to start a fire while he was in the bathroom. Authorities say the man was trying to set the building on fire with toilet paper and a garbage can.

LCSO says Illescas was first seen holding a gun at the Popeyes located along Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers.

Carmine Marceno is the Lee County Sheriff. “FMPD encountered an armed individual. The individual had a confrontation and wrongfully made a big mistake,” Sheriff Marceno said.

Sheriff Marceno says that the Fort Myers Police Department and Lee County deputies were both there when the suspect pointed a handgun directly at them. Marceno then said deputies used several rounds of less-lethal ammunition in an attempt to disarm Illescas.

That’s when he ran. “He retreated. He ran into this McDonald’s,” said Marceno.

Restaurant workers were still inside when the suspect entered. Deputies say he fired several rounds at law enforcement in the process. Then, he barricaded himself inside the bathroom.

“FMPD and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office went in, were able to get all the employees out for safety,” said Sheriff Marceno.

LCSO and FMPD were able to create a tight perimeter and then joined forces with other units. Everyone worked quickly. “Our SWAT team deployed the OC gas and obviously you know he wasn’t going to breathe much longer inside there. He comes out and we take him to custody without incident,” Marceno said.

Illescas did appear in court on Sunday morning. A judge set his bail at $475,000 and he could face up to 11 charges.