LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. Denise Finley showed up to pray Wednesday morning at St. Raphael’s Catholic Church.
But when she pulled up and saw no one there, she was too scared to get out of her car, cognizant of the crime in the area.
“Church is a place of comfort, and you should feel secure,” Finley said.
Bernie Shane, 40, of DeSoto Avenue, was arrested and accused of burglary and grand theft after the church, a prominent local fixture on 2514 Lee Blvd., was ransacked overnight Tuesday. The church requires $15,000 to $20,000 in repairs, a maintenance official there said.
It’s among a string of crimes in Lehigh Acres that has many community members like Finley worried.
Last week, a father was accused of shooting and killing his son on the 4600 block of 28th Street Southwest. Two were killed at a home on the 3100 block of Third Street West. And a shooting near a 7-Eleven at Lee and Sunshine boulevards left one person hurt.
Arrests made in attempted home burglaries
Three 19-year-olds from Immokalee were arrested after multiple attempted burglaries earlier this month in the eastern part of Lehigh, near Sentinela and Alexander Graham Bell boulevards.
In one of those encounters, the victim held suspect Jovanni Garza at gunpoint after Garza entered a home through a window, the sheriff’s office said.
Garza, of the 4800 block of Marianna Way, was taken into custody along with Bryan Austin Munoz, of the 2000 block of Bell Circle, and Adriel Espinosa, of the 300 block of South Third Street. All are facing several charges of burglary and grand theft.
“It’s too many things going on,” Finley said. “Only thing I can do is pray for help for us here in Lehigh.”
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