NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — Authorities say they have arrested a man in connection with a hostage situation involving guns, bomb threats that spanned across two different scenes in Fort Myers.
“Looked like they had robots and stuff running around the yard. I didn't know what was going on,” said North Fort Myers resident Bob Vogel.
Vogel said on Monday night he came home to find The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Lee County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad and other agencies surrounding the house next to his on Harbor Drive. He said they made him evacuate the area that night.
A neighbor tells Fox 4 community corespondent Stephen Pimpo he saw law enforcement detonate something they took out of a home connected to a hostage situation:
“I asked them why and they told me about the guy with the bombs strapped to him,” Vogel said. “I had no idea.”
Law enforcement said this was connected to 30-year-old Jesse Korff, who atf says was involved in a hostage situation Monday afternoon.
On May 19, federal court documents say officers responded to a home on Palm Tree Lane in Fort Myers. Someone had called 911 and hung up around 3:00 p.m.
When dispatchers called back, the report says they learned a man, later identified as Korff, was outside with a gun trying to kill the 911 caller's daughter.
“I saw the officers running, I saw through my camera on my garage," said neighbor Juancarlos Franchevich. "And that's when I was really excited and called 911.”
As officers arrived, the report says it turned into a hostage situation. They went inside the lanai's porch and saw a "firearm come loose and away from the male during a scuffle with a female," the documents say.
Officers tried to detain Korff and discovered what appeared to be a bomb on him, documents say.
"I have bombs," Korff told officers.
Police say they found a bulge with wires coming out of Korff's pocket, along with "another object" next to Korff, in addition to the gun. After he was taken into custody, the 911 caller was interviewed.
The report says she told officers Korff pointed the gun at her daughter with a suspected silencer on it, which is why she called 911.
As agencies from around the area swarmed the neighborhood, they searched Korff's vehicle.
According to federal agents, they found the following:
- AR-style firearm, manufactured outside of Florida.
- multiple suspected silencers
- ammunition
- tactical-style vest
Tuesday morning, authorities were back at the scene at Harbor Drive, where the landlord told Fox 4 he had been renting a house to someone named Jesse for over a year. Vogel told Fox 4 he saw officers bring something out of the house.
“They dug a hole in that field over there, buried some stuff, blew it up,” he said. “They said it was just nasty stuff, whatever it was.”
Korff is familiar to law enforcement and Fox 4 has covered a high-profile case Korff was at the center of.
He was previously arrested in January 2014, when he was 19, following a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI of Korff’s sales of toxins through an underground Internet-based marketplace known as “Black Market Reloaded.”
The U.S. Attorney's Office says he was convicted of several felonies including the transfer and possession of a toxin for use as a weapon, smuggling toxins from the United States, and conspiracy to kill, maim, or injure a person in a foreign country.
Korff pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 110 months in federal prison.
Because of the conviction, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law and has been charged with being a felon in possession of firearms.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The ATF, Lee County Sheriff's Office and Fort Myers Police are involved in an active investigation in North Fort Myers. Fox 4 has confirmed the scene on Harbor Drive is connected to the investigation that happened in Fort Myers on Monday afternoon.
"Detectives are trained to follow the facts wherever they lead, so it’s natural to see law enforcement move from one location to another," the ATF told Fox 4.
According to the sheriff's office, multiple agencies are on Harbor Drive, including the Fort Myers Fire Department's Hazardous team and LCSO's bomb squad.
"We’re partnered with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Ft Myers Police Department to conduct interviews and other activities, but it’s still very much an active investigation...," the ATF said in a statement. "I can confirm that the joint team includes explosives experts, should they encounter any suspicious devices in the pursuit of the facts."
On Monday afternoon, homes were evacuated near Palm Tree Lane as investigators looked into reports of a "suspicious device."
One suspect is in custody, according to Fort Myers Police. However, law enforcement has not released any details about the arrest.
The ATF spokesperson said more information is expected to be released later.
RELATED COVERAGE: Homes evacuated and one detained near Palm Tree Lane in Fort Myers
