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Reward grows to $17.5K for information on football coach's shooting death

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Posted at 4:36 PM, Jul 29, 2022
and last updated 2022-08-11 11:53:26-04

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Fort Myers Police Department is searching for the person that shot and killed a Fort Myers man on Friday morning.

Police say 33-year-old Craig Truttling was found dead inside a pickup truck near Highland Avenue and Canal Street shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday. He crashed into a fence in the neighborhood.

Neighbors tell Fox 4 they all heard at least five gunshots. Police say an officer in the area also heard gunshots and tried to quickly find out where they came from.

That's when the officer found the crime scene and Truttling dead inside the truck. The passenger side had several bullet holes that pierced the window.

Detectives investigated three different scenes connected to the homicide, but would not say what role the scenes play in the investigation. The other two were homes in the same area within a one-block radius of each other.

It's not clear how Truttling ended up crashing into a fence, but neighbors say they're shaken up by it.

"It didn’t make me feel too good," one neighbor said. "When I heard it, it sounded like it was right here in my yard because it sounded so loud."

That same neighbor said it sounded like fire crackers to her, not gunshots. She lives right next door to a home that police spent hours at.

There were at least 30 evidence markers surrounding the home including the front door, the roof of a car and a garbage can. Lee County Animal Control also took three dogs out of the house, one that appeared to be skinny.

Fort Myers Police say the home was deemed not habitable because it does not have running water. No one was inside when police searched the home. Officers also searched another home - just a few houses down.

Craig Truttling was an assistant football coach for the Fort Myers Firecats 14U football team - a position he's held for four years. Truttling played for the Firecats growing up before coaching a team of 35 children.

No one has been arrested for the homicide. If you know anything, authorities ask you to call Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477) where you can remain anonymous.

Councilman Johnny Streets has added $2,500 to a growing reward fund for information leading to an arrest. Including Crime Stoppers' contributions, this fund has grown to $17,500 as of Aug. 11.

Read Fox 4's initial reporting of the investigation here.