Sunday night at about 10:30PM four loud bangs were heard by residents living near the Matanzas Pass Bridge. That was quickly followed by several Lee County Sheriff deputy vehicles converging on the scene. Here’s what happened.
28-year old Punta Gorda resident Isaac Vasquez was under the bridge arguing with a friend. Leo Ferreira and his 13-year old son happened to be night fishing close by and heard the arguing. Ferreira said he saw Vasquez go back to his truck and get what looked like a shotgun and returned to where his friend was. That’s when he called 911. While Ferreira was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher 4 shots rang out followed by a splash. Ferreira told Beach Talk Radio, “I thought he killed his friend.”
LCSO says the shots were fired into the air not at anybody.
It turned out, according to Ferreira, Vasquez threw the gun in the water. Ferreira said Vazquez then started walking toward him. “I told the dispatcher all I had on me was a pocket knife but I’m going to do what I have to do to defend myself.” The good news was Vasquez acted as if nothing happened under the bridge and did not harm Ferreira or his son. There were no injuries from the incident.
Vasquez is now in custody and LCSO reported that Vasquez was found to have fired 4 shots into the air. He was taken to jail for possession of drugs on him at the time of the event and a citizens complaint was filed for discharging a firearm.
Bail was set at $3,500 and as of Monday evening Vasquez was still in custody. He has a court date set for March 31st at 8AM.
Local journalism is hard work. If you appreciate the most in-depth reporting on Fort Myers Beach, please support what we do HERE by Venmo, Zell or PayPal. Thank you.