Sentencing is scheduled for August 8, 2022, for defendant Hilario Jose Cruz. The defendant was found guilty as charged of Manslaughter with a Firearm. He was found guilty
following a three-day trial in Lee County.
On December 24, 2020, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in Lehigh Acres after getting a 911 call. The defendant was found near the victim, his girlfriend, who was on the garage floor, bleeding, from a gunshot wound to the chest. She died a short time later.
The defendant admitted to deputies that he had been drinking alcohol throughout the day, smoking a THC vape pen, and dancing around with the loaded firearm, prior to the shooting.
Assistant State Attorney Robert Rodriguez prosecuted the case.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office