In the police report, a man has admitted to killing two teenagers and shooting another. WINK News also received new information that this is not the first time the killer has been violent toward young people.

On Saturday, police arrested Elwood Timothy Robinson, 46, for killing Jeremy Stewart,16, and William Hughes,19, and shooting Kristina Deluca, 18.

A close friend of the victims told WINK News, Robinson went to the party because he wanted to scare the teens. The friend said Robinson was angry with the noise level from the party. The close friends describe the shooting as execution style and claim Robinson may have been under the influence of drugs.

The police report said one of the teenagers at the bonfire party in the woods ran into Robinson when a fight broke out. Robinson said he was a police officer and could help. Deputies said he forced the hands of Stewart and Hughes in the air and told one of them to lie down before shooting them.

The wooded area near a neighborhood off Park Way, where the two young men were found dead, was a regular hangout spot for the teenagers and their friends.

Including his family, Hughes leaves behind a 6-month-old daughter.

Friends said Stewart was a respectful and loving individual.

“He’s unique,” Kimber Cross said. “He’s special. He was someone you could get along with, crack a joke with laugh, he was always there when you needed him.”

Stewart leaves behind his mother and younger siblings.

“Best 16-year-old I’ve ever met in my life,” Cheyenne Colon said. “I’ve never met a kid with so much respect.”

Deluca is in the hospital recovering from her wounds. Her sister, Katelynn, described the trauma Deluca endured this past weekend.

“He shot at her three times,” Katelynn said. “The one went through her thumb out her pinky finger, shattered the bone, one of them grazed her throat, so all right here is cut up, and one grazed her shoulder. She’s very very lucky.”

Katelynn said her sister will not simply move forward from this and fears she will have sleepless nights ahead of her.

“It’s gonna be a long road of recovery mentally physically emotionally for my sister,” Katelynn said.

Meanwhile, a family in Olga spoke to WINK News off camera about history they have with Robinson and a protection order they filed against him in 2014. They claim Robinson forced his way into their home and choke slammed a little boy for having played in his yard. The case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. Robinson signed an affidavit that he did not own guns or ammo.

Neighbors WINK spoke to also said Robinson was having trouble dealing with the recent death of his father, which may have contributed to his action and behavior.

Trust WINK News to update you as more information becomes available.

Parents said city leaders should do whatever it takes to make sure they come home safe from school. Twenty-three officers moved to school resource officer positions this school year. Now, Cape Coral Police Department wants to get more recruits for the streets.

Cape Coral City Council approved $80,000 to put new recruits through police training academy with the goal of filling 23 vacancies.

CCPD Sgt. Allan Kolak told WINK news eight officers are finishing field training and will be active soon, while four more recruits are in the academy.

Watch the video for the full story.

In 2016 a parent pleaded by email the superintendent of the School District of Lee County to look into a teacher working at Varsity Lakes Middle School for the safety of the children there.

She claimed he sexually abused her son from 2007 to 2008 while working for the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services. An outside investigation for that agency substantiated the claim.

But prosecutors in that state did not charge him criminally.

Therein, lied the problem.

Steven Biczel, a man with a substantiated finding of child sexual abuse in another state, cleared criminal background checks in Florida.

He was hired as a camp counselor for the city of Cape Coral in 2012 and as a math teacher at Varsity Lakes Middle in 2014, with neither of these employers aware of his past until the parent emailed in 2016.

When the school district confronted Biczel in 2016, he admitted he’d been dismissed from his job at the New Jersey Division of Youth Services amid this investigation.

He promptly resigned and the school district notified his other employer the City of Cape Coral.

“We informed him we would no longer need his services at that time,” said Connie Barron, interim assistant city manager.

Barron said in 2012, a substantiated finding from a child welfare agency in another state would not have been legally accessible to the city during the hiring process.

Since then, she said Florida law has updated to include these type of records in background screenings for camp counselors who have relocated from another state.

School districts have a different mechanism for pre-employment screening.

While fingerprint criminal background checks are standard for most lines of work dealing with children, educators must also be screened through Florida’s education certification portal and discipline system.

These mechanisms alert employers about past misconduct and discipline on an educator’s license within the state of Florida. The state also requires employment history checks of each of the person’s previous employers and applicants to answer a series of questions about resignation and termination.

The Department of Education said via email that law has been in place since 2008, prior to when Biczel was hired.

The School District of Lee County refused to sit down for an interview with WINK News on this topic and referred WINK News to Biczel’s personnel file when asked which former employers were contacted before he was hired.

There is no record in the personnel file that the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services was ever contacted.

District spokesperson Rob Spicker released this statement:

When asked if all former employers are contacted before hiring, Spicker emailed the following response:

At a minimum, the hiring manager must complete two phone references.  One of  these must be from the current or immediate previous supervisor/administrator.

Discipline documents from the Florida Department of Education indicate that it was revealed after the parent emailed Dr. Adkins in 2016 that Biczel left the New Jersey position “not in good standing”.

“All it takes are phone calls and diligent checking,” said Andrea Clemens, an advocate, and author who was sexually abused by her middle school teacher.

Clemens said background checks give a false sense of security because of the heavy focus on the criminal record.

“Not every offender has a criminal history … but every offender has an offending history,” she said.

WINK News contacted Steven Biczel by email and telephone, but could not get him to comment for this story. Records indicate that while he admitted to lying on his job application to school leaders, he also told them he was not aware the allegations of child sexual abuse were substantiated.

Amazon has pushed off the opening of its new Fort Myers delivery station to 2019. Delaying Leonardo, who requested we do not use his last name for fear of losing his job, and many others new jobs for the holidays.

“It’s screwed me a lot because the guy actually told us you can just quit your job,” Leonardo said. “You’re going to start on the fifth, so I gave my job my resignation letter.”

Amazon officials said permit issues have delayed the opening.

Leonardo was planning on spending time with his daughter. “She doesn’t live here now,” he said. “I’m screwed. I had my bills on top of me, my rent, my car payment, my insurance — I mean everything!”

When the delivery station does open, it will provide the area with 500 part-time jobs with fully flexible schedules, including benefits. Some workers will earn upwards of $18 an hour.

The delivery station will help Amazon customers receive their packages faster. It is the last stop before the customer’s doorstep. Janeth Castrejob with CareerSource Southwest Florida, said this will completely reshape an already thriving job market.

“About time we have a competitor come into the area,” Janeth said, “and actually have the other employers reevaluate how they’re going to attract quality talent to themselves.”

As for Leonardo, Amazon said he and the 450 others already offered jobs will still have those positions when the electronic commerce and cloud computing company opens. But it leaves him scrambling for other work in the meantime.

“It’s a multibillion dollar company,” Leonardo said. “It’s not like a wishy-washy company or somebody from the neighborhood. It’s a big company. They should be more professional.”

A funnel cloud made an appearance in Lee County Monday afternoon. A funnel cloud does not touch the ground. If it did, it would be a tornado.

Meteorologist Scott Zedeker confirmed a funnel cloud appeared in the area.

It did not become a tornado and presented no major danger to the area.

User submitted video was shared at WINK News. Here is one taken in Lehigh Acres:

A woman was arrested after allegedly stealing a 55” television from the Walmart on 1619 Del Prado Blvd S. earlier this month.

MORE: Cape Coral police seeking help identifying retail theft suspects

Cape Coral police received a call about the theft on November 7 and after publishing surveillance photos of the suspects, investigators were able to identify “Millie” Campo and Robert Campo, and found that Millie’s real name was Damaris Gartenmayer.

Gartenmayer, 47, turned herself into police and was arrested for grand theft.

Fort Myers Police arrest a teen for allegedly breaking into a home on Alhambra Drive and stealing jewelry and other items Thursday.

FMPD says they were contacted by a resident of Alhambra Drive around 1 p.m. on November 15. The neighbor said a young male with a bicycle was seen looking through the front door of a house, then hiding his bike in bushes on the side before going into the fenced back yard.

When officers arrived the neighbor said the suspect was still in the backyard. Officers then heard a crash from the back of the house and found the back slider had been shattered.

The suspect ran away on, but ultimately caught and arrested by officers.

Officers found jewelry and other items in the 16-year-old suspects possession which had allegedly been taken from the residence.

Officers discovered the suspect had smashed in the rear slider door with a brick.

The teen was placed under arrest and charged with Burglary of an Unoccupied Dwelling, Grand Theft Larceny, Property Damage, Criminal Mischief and Resisting an Officer Without Violence, then transported to the to the Lee County Juvenile Assessment Center.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. will not levy additional punitive measures at this time against Saudi Arabia over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S. does not condone the killing of the U.S-based Saudi columnist, but that “foolishly” canceling $110 billion in arms sales — as some in Congress have suggested — would only mean that Saudi Arabia would go to other countries to acquire them.

Trump says the king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia “vigorously deny” any knowledge of the planning and execution of the Oct. 2 murder of The Washington Post columnist at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

He says “it could well be that the crown prince had knowledge.”

Trump says “maybe he did and maybe he didn’t.”

Calling all small business owners and managers in Southwest Florida! Will your business be open on November, 24 for Small Business Saturday? Let us know if you’ll be offering any deals so you can be included in our upcoming list. Complete the short form below by November, 23.

Click HERE to submit your business.

Blue-green algae was recently sighted near the Franklin Lock in Alva, and now it is moving down the Caloosahatchee River into North Fort Myers.

MORE: More algae spotted near Franklin Lock in Alva

Neighbors say they could smell the toxic blooms and conditions were so bad, they say an elderly woman had to be taken to the hospital Tuesday.

People saw it in the river near Old Bridge Park this morning but it improved after some rain blew through and broke it up.

Janine Roberts who lives in River’s Edge Mobile Home says she has also gotten sick by being outside near the algae all summer.

“This morning I woke up and my throat hurt, and I was like huh, so I made my cup of coffee and came out here to swing on my swing and it was covered,” Roberts said. “I was like ‘oh… here comes the nightmare again.'”

This week is the first time they’ve see the green slime return since August, and they are just hoping matters don’t get worse.

Is Hertz Arena up for sale?

If it is, some Lee County leaders say they are interested, and so is Florida Gulf Coast University.

The university wants to work with the county to build a new 50,000 foot office building located in a part of land that is currently used as parking for events.

Lee County says that FGCU approached them to see if they would like to purchase Hertz Arena.

The college says they are exploring partnerships to build a new administrative building.

Taxpayer Sandy Pladson feels that from a business standpoint, it doesn’t make sense.

“I’m a business person and sometimes, things when they aren’t run by the county or the state, they are much more profitable,” she said.

The county already uses the arena as a hurricane shelter and has spent a lot of money hardening the building to protect it from storms, but before the county moves into negotiations, they want to do their homework.

“We need to know how It will be funded how to pay for it we need to know if the arena supported itself from a revenue standpoint we don’t wanna create another burden on the taxpayers,” said Brian Hamman, a Lee County Commissioner.

FGCU is taking its time with the process as well. They acknowledge they want a new administrative building but told WINK News it is not an immediate need.

Although Pladson has her doubts, she thinks it is important to support the school.

“I think that in order to get college students here which are going to help your economy you need to keep them so they have to help them expand,” she said.

WINK News reached out to Hertz Arena on this matter and they declined to comment.

If it is sold to the county, the arena won’t be knocked down.

A Cape Coral man turned himself in to authorities following an investigation that found he swindled a church out of thousands of dollars.

Jeffrey Countryman, 44, turned himself into the Cape Coral Police Department and has been charged in a scheme to defraud the Cape Christian Fellowship Church of over $30,000 where he previously was the lead pastor until December 2017.

In February, the church treasurer alerted the lead pastor, Cory Demmel, that his predecessor may have stolen money. The church bookkeeper noticed an irregularity in a $2,600 book order from Amazon that was never delivered.

“This is more than just grabbing money out of an offering plate,” Demmel said. “It was to the point where he passed two financial audits independent of us.”

After consulting with Amazon, the bookkeeper determined the invoice was fraudulent, which motivated him to dig deeper into Countryman’s expenditures. It lead to numerous altered receipts and invoices.

With this evidence, church staff reported the incident to the CCPD. Soon after, a financial crimes detective began an in-depth investigation. Several months later, there was ample evidence to support the church’s claim.

“While I said it was disappointing,” Demmel said, “we’ve also made the decision moving forward that we’re going to forgive Jeff. And forgiveness doesn’t condone what someone does.”

For the second time in two days, a Southwest Florida school bus ends up in a crash.

“Their bus got hit,” Rocio Roth said, a mother of one of the children. “And it ended up in the middle of the intersection. Really scary.”

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the driver of this vehicle blew through a red light at Corkscrew Rd. and via Coconut Point Rd. blindsiding the bus with eight students from Rayma Page Elementary on board.

None of the kids were injured in the crash, but 4th grader Julissa Roth said she was still shocked.

“I just started shaking,” Julissa said. “I got really scared.”

Julissa’s mother, Rocio, said she is worried about putting her daughter back on a school bus.

“It makes me second guess sending her on the bus, number one,” Rocio said. “And then the notification system — you know they’ve been on the bus for two hours. Also the time they spent on that bus was pretty ridiculous.”

The crash on Tuesday evening comes just 24 hours after another school bus crash last night in Golden Gate Estates. Deputies there responded by pulling over 14 people for driving dangerously near buses today.

And just days ago, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office announced a new zero tollerance policy, which cracks down on reckless drivers near school buses.

And Rocio hopes it helps protect her little girl.

“It definitely could have been a lot worse,” Rocio said. “Thankful that they’re all ok.”

Authorities are looking for two men who robbed a Circle K at gunpoint early Wednesday morning.

Around 3:12 a.m., police were called to the gas station at 1829 Skyline Boulevard.

Two men pointed a handgun at the manager of the Circle K demanding money, and they fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.

The men were wearing bandanas over their faces and one of the men was wearing an FGCU hoodie, police said.

1 of 4

K-9, aviation and major crimes units were called in. The investigation is ongoing.

If you have any information on the identity of the suspects, please contact the Cape Coral Police Department at 239-574-3223. You can also submit an anonymous tip. Go to www.capecops.com/tips or text a tip- text CCPD+”Your Message” to CRIMES (274637). Finally, you can call Crimestoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS. Please use this Case Report # 18-022592.

More than a dozen national retailers will open their doors early for Black Friday, kicking off sales on Thanksgiving Day.

At the same time, the list of brick-and-mortar stores that will remain closed for the holiday is growing, and lately stands at nearly 100 national and regional retailers, according to BestBlackFriday.com.

The push for earlier Black Friday sales comes as consumers increasingly snub brick-and-mortar retailers in favor of online rivals such as Amazon. Yet many stores still count on a surge in sales during the annual shopping extravaganza.

Those dynamics are putting pressure on retailers to offer more holiday “doorbusters” — or low prices on high-demand products like computers or home appliances — and to stay open on Thanksgiving.

Walmart plans to kick off its Black Friday event on Thanksgiving day at 4 p.m., when it will throw what it describes as its first-ever “Light Up Black Friday” party for customers. Store workers are expected to give away 4 million cups of Keurig coffee and 2 million Christmas cookies during the two-hour party, the company said. Its Black Friday sales will officially begin at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, although Walmart is already offering some discounts online.

Some retailers say they want to give their workers a break on Thanksgiving. Retailers ranging from Ace Hardware to Trader Joe’s are among those closing their doors on the holiday, according to BestBlackFriday.com (see full list below of retailers that will shut their doors on Thanksgiving.)

How much people spend

Consumers plan to spend an average of $554.90 during the holiday weekend, with $207.30 going towards gifts, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Seventy-one percent of shoppers will go to a shopping center or mall during the holiday weekend, with millennials leading the way, at 83 percent, a new survey by the group shows.

The National Retail Federation estimated that 174 million people shopped in stores and online during last year’s five-day Thanksgiving weekend, which ends with Cyber Monday.

Below are the hours for stores open on Thanksgiving, followed by the retailers scheduled to be closed on the holiday, according to BestBlackFriday.com.

Stores open on Thanksgiving Day

Bass Pro Shops
8 a.m.-6 p.m. The stores will reopen at 5 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23.

Belk
4 p.m.-1 a.m.  Stores will reopen at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

Best Buy
5 p.m.-1 a.m. The retailer will reopen at 8 a.m. on Black Friday.

Big Lots
7 a.m.-midnight. Stores will reopen at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

Cabela’s
8 a.m-6 p.m. The retailer will reopen at 5 a.m. on Black Friday.

Dick’s Sporting Goods
6 p.m-2 a.m. Stores will reopen at 5 a.m. on Black Friday.

J.C. Penney
2 p.m. on Thanksgiving, remaining open through 10 p.m. on Black Friday.

Kmart
6 a.m.-midnight. Stores will open at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

Kohl’s
5 p.m. on Thanksgiving and remaining open until 1 p.m. on Black Friday.

Macy’s
5 p.m.- 2 a.m. Stores will reopen on Black Friday at 6 a.m.

Old Navy
3 p.m. on Thanksgiving and remaining open until 10 p.m. on Black Friday.

Sears
6 p.m.-midnight. Stores will reopen at 5 a.m. on Black Friday.

Target
5 p.m.-1 a.m. Stores will reopen at 7 a.m. on Black Friday.

Walmart
Thanksgiving day 4-6 p.m. (pre-sale party), with Black Friday sales beginning at 6 p.m.

Stores Closed on Thanksgiving Day 

• A.C. Moore
• Abt Electronics
• Academy Sports + Outdoors
• Ace Hardware
• Acme Tools
• Allen Edmonds
• American Girl
• At Home
• AT&T (Company-owned stores)
• Barnes & Noble
• Big 5 Sporting Goods
• BJ’s Wholesale Club
• Blain’s Farm & Fleet
• Bob’s Discount Furniture
• Burlington
• Christopher & Banks
• Cost Plus World Market
• Costco
• Craft Warehouse
• Crate and Barrel
• Dillard’s
• Dressbarn (most stores)
• El Dorado Furniture
• Fleet Farm
• Gander Outdoors
• Gardner-White Furniture
• Guitar Center
• H&M
• Half Price Books
• Harbor Freight Tools
• Hobby Lobby
• Home Depot
• HomeGoods
• Homesense
• IKEA
• JOANN Stores
• Lamps Plus
• Lowe’s
• Mall of America
• Marshalls
• Mattress Firm
• Menards
• Micro Center
• Music & Arts
• Nebraska Furniture Mart
• Nordstrom
• Nordstrom Rack
• Northern Tool
• Office Depot & OfficeMax
• Outdoor Research
• P.C. Richard & Son
• Patagonia
• Pep Boys
• Petco
• PetSmart
• Pier 1 Imports
• Publix
• Raymour & Flanigan Furniture | Mattresses
• REI
• Sam’s Club
• Sierra Trading Post
• Sportsman’s Warehouse
• Sprint (Stores closed unless mall decides otherwise; mall kiosks may open)
• Staples
• Stein Mart
• Sur La Table
• The Container Store
• The Original Mattress Factory
• The Paper Store
• TJ Maxx
• Tractor Supply Co.
• Trader Joe’s
• Trollbeads
• Von Maur
• West Marine

— With reporting by Aimee Picchi

Get ready for some long driving hours this week if you plan on traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday.

With the large amount of people expected on the roads, major cities expect to see traffic backups.

Drivers, on the other hand, just say they are excited to meet up with family and enjoy some good food together.

According to AAA, 2.8 million Floridians are expected to travel during this holiday week, the most since 2007.

Weather and Traffic

Stay up-to-date while your travelling with the latest weather and traffic wherever you are with the WINK Weather and Traffic app. Free Download: Apple | Android

Flight times

Check your flight arrival and departure times from Fort Myers International Airport (RSW) at flylcpa.com

Flight times from Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) flypgd.com

You can calso track a flight live with flightaware.com.

Travel Tips

Arrive Early. Two hours prior to domestic flights and three hours for international.

Surface road will be very busy so allow extra time to get to the airport. Use the I-75 Direct Connect as the fastest way to enter and exit RSW.

Make sure you check your airlines policies on baggage. Weight and size, as well as charges.

Put identification on your bag and inside, in case the outside tags gets pulled off.

Check your airline website for any delays or cancellations.

Remember 3-1-1. No more than 3oz in a one 1 quart bag per person for liquids in your carry on.

Take anything larger than your cell phone out of your carry on luggage and put in the TSA bin.

For more information about TSA guidelines concerning carry on luggage, gifts and food items go to TSA.gov.

9 expert tips for your Thanksgiving road trip

1. Get a good night’s sleep
2. Don’t skip breakfast
3. Buckle up
4. Avoid digital distractions
5. Keep kids entertained
6. Take breaks
7. Bring healthy snacks
8. Transport cooked foods safely

Shopping

Here’s a full list of stores open/closed on Thanksgiving.

A robbery at a North Fort Myers gas station lead to the arrest of a man and a women on Wednesday.

Cheyenne Williams, 24, and Keith Cooper, 22, have been arrested by Lee County Sheriff’s Office Deputies for robbery of a business without at weapon.

Williams, a clerk for Murphy’s Gas Station on Pine Island Road, said he was robbed by a male who demanded cigarette cartons, scratch off tickets and cash. After Deputies arrived at the scene, K9 track led them to Cooper, who had two stolen cartons of Newport cigarettes.

Major Crime Detectives took over the investigation soon afterward. They questioned Williams. He gave the detectives the impression that he was involved in the robbery, per the press release, leading him to be charged.

Black Friday is notorious for deals, and to make sure you are making the most of your shopping holiday, you should have a plan before hitting the stores.

Money experts at NerdWallet suggest making a list and sticking to it, that way you can avoid impulse purchases.

They also recommend knowing the store’s layout ahead of time so you can get in and out in an efficient manner.

A third tip is to understand warranties ahead of time. Many stores will try to sell you an extended warranty at the register but depending on the credit card you use, you may not need it.

“Some credit card protections offer warranties for up to two years — like a Citi credit–you want to make sure you use that credit for that purchase.”

Also make sure you know the stores’ extended holiday hours and research item prices right up until you are ready to make a purchase.

Despite an urgent warning from the Centers for Disease Control to throw out all romaine lettuce, some stores in Southwest Florida are still selling it.

MORE: CDC Warning: Do not eat any romaine lettuce

The CDC says romaine lettuce has sickened dozens with E.coli, but they don’t know where the lettuce is coming from and have yet to issue an actual recall.

Some stores still had romaine lettuce products on their shelves, including ready made salads in a Cape Coral Walmart.

As shoppers snag their last minute grocery items, shoppers like Larry Kretz are staying away from all lettuce products.

“I always thought it was healthier to stay away from lettuce anyway,” he said, laughing.

But it was no laughing matter for a Cape Coral mom, Kim Clower, who loaded up her cart at the same store.

Clower says she told staff about finding romaine lettuce on their shelves just after a nationwide alert was issued, but she didn’t get the response she was hoping for.

“I said well it’s all over the news, you’ve got romaine sitting out,” Clower said. “And he said ‘well I don’t have an email so we’re not going to pull it.'”

With this in mind, WINK News checked other Cape Coral stores, and several weren’t carrying the lettuce while a Publix near Santa Barbara was still serving salads with the romaine.

The managers at both stores told WINK News they weren’t sure how the lettuce was still on shelves, and Clower says she is worried someone will take home some bad food without realizing it.

“It’s very dangerous, it should be taken very seriously,” she said.

The CDC is taking it seriously, however, and says you shouldn’t eat any romaine even in salad mixes.

WINK News reached out to both Walmart and Publix corporate for a response, but we have not heard back.

Meanwhile, Florida farmers say they will lose millions of dollars because of the CDC alert, and they say don’t think the tainted lettuce originated in Florida.

WINK News reporter Morgan Rynor was live near Belle Glade where many farmers grow romaine lettuce as well as other types of lettuce. Watch the full segment below where farmers discuss how they are handling the romaine lettuce scare.

A bombshell report shows the Florida Democratic Party may have broken the law — in the midst of a statewide recount.

It all stems back to the Cure Affidavit form, which voters submit to correct their rejected vote-by-mail ballot.

On the correct form, the deadline is clearly listed as 5 p.m. the day before the election; however, on the form in a complaint Democrats are accused of circulating, the deadline is Nov. 8, which is two days after the election.

The Secretary of State’s office said the forms were used in at least four counties. Party leaders in Lee County have various opinions on the allegations.

“I think any sort of election fraud is unacceptable,” Jonathan Martin said, chair of the Lee County Republican executive committee. “It needs to be investigated, it needs to be prosecuted, and the individuals who are ultimately convicted of it need to be punished.”

“We’re the party that wants to get people to vote and not to cheat,” Yoseph Tedros said, chair of the Lee County Democrats. “So in that sense, I would be highly surprised if anything like that happened. I think there could be maybe some irregularities, but most of them can be explained.”

It will now be up to the state’s law enforcement agency to separate fact from fiction.