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𝗦𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿-𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

"This suspect put his own family, responding deputies, and our community in danger with his reckless and violent actions numerous times" said Sheriff Carmine Marceno. "Thanks to the swift response of our deputies, Aviation, ATSU, VCU and MCU detectives, he's behind bars where he belongs and will now face the consequences of his actions."

Thursday morning, just after midnight deputies responded to a residence on Willowbrook Drive in Lehigh Acres for a domestic disturbance involving an armed subject.

Deputies learned that 32-year-old Joe Christopher Simmons, Jr. allegedly fired a handgun from inside the occupied residence while several family members were present.

According to witnesses, Simmons Jr had been behaving erratically and claimed he was shooting at "ghosts" inside the home.

When family members tried to calm him down, he became enraged and allegedly struck a family member in the jaw and headbutted another before fleeing the scene in a gray Jeep Cherokee.

Deputies attempted to stop Simmon's vehicle but he failed to stop, resulting in a pursuit.

During the pursuit, shots were fired at deputies near the 100 block of Greenbriar Boulevard and the 1800 block of Richmond Ave N.

At both of these scenes, two deputies returned fire.

The pursuit ended in the back yard of a residence on Wilby Lane, where Simmons Jr crashed his vehicle into a ditch, flipping the vehicle on its hood.

Simmons Jr then barricaded himself within the vehicle for nearly two and a half hours before deputies safely took him into custody with the assistance of ATSU and Aviation.

There were no injuries to the suspect, victims, or law enforcement officers involved.

Throughout the investigation, detectives learned that Simmons Jr was involved in multiple other shootings Wednesday night leading up to this event that our Violent Crimes Unit has been investigating.

Simmons Jr faces one count of attempted homicide on an LEO, one count of aggravated assault on an LEO, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of shooting into an occupied dwelling, one count of shooting into an occupied conveyance (related to the incident earlier this week), and two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery.

The two deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is the standard procedure for officer-involved shootings. ... See MoreSee Less

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𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐨 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

“Thanks to the outstanding work of our State Attorney’s Office, Major Crimes Unit detectives, and road patrol deputies, this guy is behind bars where he belongs,” said Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “Violent criminals have no place in Lee County, and we will continue working to ensure those who threaten the safety of our community are held accountable.”

On April 14 of last year, deputies responded to Palm Drive in the Pine Manor community following reports of a shooting that had just occurred.

Upon arrival, deputies located a male, later identified as Gedeonson Hyacinthe, standing over the victim in the roadway. Hyacinthe immediately told deputies that he had "tussled" with the victim and that the victim had been shot.

Hyacinthe was detained at the scene and transported to headquarters for questioning.

Due to the nature of the incident, members of the Major Crimes Unit responded and assumed the investigation.

Detectives determined that Hyacinthe and the victim were involved in a verbal altercation at an intersection in the Pine Manor community. The confrontation escalated into a physical fight before Hyacinthe shot the victim.

Following the shooting, Hyacinthe began streaming on Facebook Live, recounting the events and displaying the active crime scene.

Detectives worked tirelessly on this case over time, utilizing investigative techniques to establish charges on Hyacinthe. Yesterday, the State Attorney's Office approved a warrant charging Hyacinthe with Second-Degree Murder.

Hyacinthe was quickly located by members of our Fugitive Warrants Unit and taken into custody without incident. Along with the charge of Second Degree Murder, he was charged with two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance after being found with illegal narcotics. ... See MoreSee Less