Bryan Clinton Gibson, 35, was found guilty as charged with two counts each of False Imprisonment and Criminal Mischief for an April 2019 crime that occurred along Del Prado Boulevard in Cape Coral. The jury returned the guilty verdict just before noon today following a Lee County trial that lasted just more than a day.
The victims were two women who had been helping the defendant move out of a hotel. After loading his belongings into his Jaguar, the women accompanied him to his new residence to unload the car. Gibson told the women he was concerned they were being tracked on their cellphones and demanded they turn over their phones to him. The victims placed their phones in the center console of the car and he then threw the phones out the window.
The victims demanded to be let out of the car but the defendant refused to stop. He was driving fast and running red lights, up and down a section of Del Prado. He also pulled out a knife. He eventually pulled into a convenience store, where one victim tried to crawl out the passenger side window after finding the door would not open. Gibson pulled her back in the car.
Simultaneously, the second victim kicked at the rear door, which also would not open by the handle, and was able to get out. This distracted Gibson from the first victim, who was then able to crawl out of the window. The two women ran into the store for safety.
A store employee called 911 and Cape Coral Police quickly responded. When officers arrived, they found the employee and one victim holding the doors of the store closed as Gibson was yelling and trying to pull the doors open. He was then arrested.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 2nd. When the verdict was announced in court today, the defendant became disruptive and had to be restrained. He will remain in custody until sentencing. Assistant State Attorney Robert Rodriguez prosecuted the case.
Samantha Syoen
Communications Director
State Attorney’s Office
ssyoen@sao20.org
239-533-1125