LCSO on Paid Leave Pending Criminal Investigation

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June confrontation between Lee deputy, North Fort Myers man, now an internal affairs probe

Michael Braun, Fort Myers News-PressPublished 12:44 p.m. ET Dec. 5, 2019

A Lee County Sheriff's Office deputy is on paid leave after a confrontation with a North Fort Myers man. Special to The News-Press

Surveillance video of a June confrontation between a Lee County deputy and a North Fort Myers man has significant differences from the Sheriff's Office official report.

The deputy is now on paid leave and the focus of an internal affairs investigation.

The confrontation ended when the man was arrested on resisting and obstruction charges. Both charges were dismissed.

A Lee County Sheriff's Office deputy is on paid leave pending an investigation after a Lee County man and deputies were pepper sprayed, the man was tasered multiple times and then charged with resisting arrest and obstruction, with both charges later dismissed.

During the confrontation, the man, Enzo Vincenzi, 53, was tasered four times and deputies were exposed to their own pepper spray.

The Sheriff's Office confirmed that the initial deputy involved, Brian Hoyt, is on paid administrative leave pending the internal affairs investigation into the June 10 incident. The Sheriff's Office said no additional information was available.

According to a Sept. 20 deposition in the case Hoyt has been with the Sheriff's Office about a year and, before that, with the Cape Coral Police Department for about two years.

Video of the incident taken from surveillance cameras at the North Fort Myers property where it took place shows significant differences than the official Sheriff's Office report.

The Sheriff's Office report on the June 10 earlier incident said deputies responded to North Tamiami Trail and East Mariana Avenue in reference to an investigation of a possible suicidal person.

At 1652 North Tamiami Trail, also known as the Sabal Park Inn, Hoyt interacted with Vincenzi. The inn was not in operation.

A Sheriff's Office report said that Vincenzi "got aggressive" with Hoyt, twice refused him access to the gated property to check for the possible suicidal subject and swore at the deputy.

According to the report, after Hoyt received a radio call that the subject had been found and started to leave, Vincenzi charged Hoyt's cruiser.

A Lee County Sheriff's Office deputy is on paid leave pending an investigation after a Lee County man and deputies were pepper sprayed, the man was tasered multiple times and then charged with resisting arrest and obstruction, with both charges later dismissed.

In the surveillance video, however, at no time is Vincenzi seen "charging" Hoyt's cruiser. In fact, during the portion of the encounter outside the fence gate at the inn property, Vincenzi walks normally up to Hoyt and then away from him.

In the ensuing confrontation between Hoyt and Vincenzi, the deputy's report claimed he grabbed Vincenzi's arm after the man began to run from him and the deputy said he saw Vincenzi reach into his pocket.

Surveillance video shows Vincenzi standing still, holding a cell phone and speaking to Hoyt, with Hoyt grabbing the man's arm as he turns to walk away.

Hoyt then called for backup and wrestled Vincenzi over the front of his cruiser as a second deputy, Larry Wincelowiczarrived. Hoyt can also be seen tossing Vincenzi's cell phone on top of his cruiser.

In the Sept. 20 deposition, Hoyt said he could not remember if Vincenzi was holding a cell phone or if he ever handled it after the confrontation. Later in the video, Hoyt approaches his cruiser, grabs the phone, takes it inside his vehicle and then leaves the cruiser and tosses the phone on top of another Sheriff's Office vehicle.

The surveillance video also shows Vincenzi holding a cell phone in a recording position from the moment he appears on camera until Hoyt strips it from his hands.

The report said the two muscled Vincenzi to the ground while he continued to resist, with the deputies then firing their department-issued Tasers three times into the man.

Vincenzi ripped out the Taser lines and ran from the deputies onto the fenced-in Sabal Park property with the two men in chase. Wincelowicz tried using pepper spray on Vincenzi but accidentally sprayed Hoyt and exposed himself to the spray.

At points in the surveillance video after Vincenzi was handcuffed, Hoyt wipes his eyes with a towel or cloth.

A third deputy,Michael Rojas, arrived and Tasered Vincenzi in the back, subduing him enough to place him in handcuffs.

Attorney Jerry Theophilopoulos, the Tarpon Springs lawyer representing Vincenzi, contends there was no basis for an arrest and confirmed the resisting charge was dropped and the obstruction charge was never pursued.

"The deputy already had word that the "suicidal suspect" was located at a different location yet he chose to continue to harass my client," the attorney said.

He said Vincenzi was holding up his cell phone and recording the incident.

"The first deputy (Hoyt) pulls it out of his hand while trying to arrest my client and then he throws it on the hood of his cruiser."

Theophilus said no one will admit to handling Vincenzi's phone and the video was erased from his phone when it was returned to him.

The attorney also said that Hoyt and Wincelowicz perjured themselves in the report and during depositions.

Vincenzi said he had signs posted on the property marking the defunct motel as private property and closed.

He said he placed the cameras for his protection because he had negative contact with the Sheriff's Office and Lee County Courts previously.

"I figured one day this might happen," he said. "I have no faith in the system in regards to the Sheriff's Office."

Theophilus said a notice of an intent to file a lawsuit in the case has been sent to the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida. There is a six-month wait from filing an intent until the suit can be filed, he said.

A Lee County Sheriff's Office deputy is on paid leave pending an investigation after a Lee County man and deputies were pepper sprayed, the man was tasered multiple times and then charged with resisting arrest and obstruction, with both charges later dismissed.

Video from the Sabal Park property surveillance cameras saw the initial confrontation between Hoyt and Vincenzi from several angles.

At the Sept. 20 deposition of Hoyt, the deputy said Vincenzi had later apologized to him at the hospital and said he had previous trouble with law enforcement. However, no such apology was recorded in the deputy's report and there were no witnesses.

During the deposition, Hoyt told Theophilopoulos he had likely forgotten to record the apology during to the stress of the situation.

Vincenzi no longer owns the Sabal park property, selling it shortly after the incident, he said.

Connect with this reporter: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook) @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter)

Can't wait for this Attorney to Depose LCSO Appointed Sheriff Carmine Marceno, on his qualifications and the training that he has prescribed for his Deputies based on his imminent law enforcement qualifications.

Multi Million Dollar Law Suit and there will be numerous arrests on state & Federal Armed Civil Rights Violation Charges, False Arrest, Fabrication of Evidence, Perjury, Destruction of Evidence .....

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How can I support this leavans fella
He seems like a real winner
I’m sure he would never have anything go wrong
Does anyone know where he lives so I can drop off some gold bars for his thriving campaign!

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If they only had a Captain who was an actual part of this district, instead of a mythical unicorn. This district died when CR and his crew all left for greener pastures.

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Can't wait for this Attorney to Depose LCSO Appointed Sheriff Carmine Marceno, on his qualifications and the training that he has prescribed for his Deputies based on his imminent law enforcement qualifications.

Multi Million Dollar Law Suit and there will be numerous arrests on state & Federal Armed Civil Rights Violation Charges, False Arrest, Fabrication of Evidence, Perjury, Destruction of Evidence ..... of all of the Deputies involved.

Amira Fox, washed her hands of this mess.

US Attorney and FBI have been asked by the plantiff's attorney to conduct Armed Civil Rights Investigation and to include your appointed sheriff as well.

You will answer all of the Attorney's questions of your qualifications and past employment, this just keeps getting better and better .... I hear that the attorney is also going after Mike Scott, Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis for appointing and allowing this FRAUD to continue ....

Are we going to blame anyone that is not even part of the Sheriff's department for this as well ?????

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Another example of Leavens and his group of misfits going after deputies for political gain. The only thing he is gaining is weight!

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Another example of Leavens and his group of misfits going after deputies for political gain. The only thing he is gaining is weight!

We will never stand by for corrupt police officer(s) that violate the civil rights of anyone, and that perjure themselves to put innocent people in jail .

Sounds like all the Money that you paid to play with Carmine and his minions is going up in smoke !!!!!!!!

See if you can get your money back before he uses it for his and daddy's attorney's fees !

Psss ... FDLE just arrested 10 people for fraud at the Airport, at the news conference we saw:

State Attorney, Clerk of Court, and FDLE agent in charge Shane Pollard .... FDLE says hi Carmine ... your news conference is right around the corner ... Boy FDLE sure knows how to do a complex criminal investigation don't they Carmine .... LMAO

FDLE knows that when people plea the 5th and hire an attorney, it's because they have to hide, but it wont save you ...

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Hoyt has already been in trouble for lying at Cape Coral. Why was this guy hired!