A Lee County jury has convicted one of three suspects in the 2015 killing of a Lehigh Acres man following a five-day trial.
Jurors on Friday evening convicted Dexter Thomas, 42, of Fort Myers, of first-degree premeditated murder; first-degree burglary; and conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary for a deadly home invasion robbery.
The Lee County Grand Jury indicated Thomas on the charges on Dec. 18, 2020. Assistant State Attorneys Daniel Feinberg and Jennifer Royal prosecuted the case.
His trial began nearly one week after one of the co-defendants, Antonio Crews, 32, accepted a plea deal from the state July 28.
On Feb. 21, 2015, deputies responded to the 4000 block of Centennial Boulevard, where they found Luis Enrique Vazquez-Ocasio, 36, with a gunshot wound. Vazquez-Ocasio later died.
Detectives said a trio of suspects entered the home to rob Vazquez-Ocasio and fatally shot him.
Tiphanie Dawn Sager, 30, of Cape Coral, in September 2020 was sentenced to nine years in prison after she pleaded guilty before Lee Circuit Judge Robert Branning.
The third co-defendant, Crews, of Cape Coral, was arrested in September 2020 by the Fugitive Warrants Task Force. He faced charges of second-degree murder; first-degree burglary; and conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary with an assault or battery conspiracy.
Crews pleaded guilty on Friday before Thompson and was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary with an assault or battery. The state dropped the first-degree burglary charge.
Thomas’ sentencing is slated for Sept. 22.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Lee County jury convicts Fort Myers man in ’15 Lehigh Acres fatal