Cape man reportedly points gun at workers
A Cape Coral man allegedly pointed a handgun at two CenturyLink employees who were working in his neighborhood Monday morning and threatened them.
Robert Anthony Pagano, 50, of 315 S.E. 22nd Terrace, was arrested and charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. On Tuesday, he remained in custody on $5,000 bond.
At about 10:30 a.m. Monday, the Cape police responded to 315 S.E. 22nd Terrace. The two employees reported that they knocked on the door of the residence to inform the occupants that they would be working in the area.
They were going to be on the property and a neighbor’s property to repair some phone lines. When no one answered the door, the employees walked to the driveway across the street to discuss their plan to start the repairs.
Pagano then exited his home pointing a handgun at the employees, officials reported. He had his finger on the trigger and shouted threats at them.
Upon arriving on scene, officers detained Pagano for questioning.
Officials reported that he initially said he did not walk outside with a gun. Pagano later admitted that he walked outside armed with his .38 revolver.
He was taken into custody and transported to the Lee County Jail.
Brian Hamman, a spokesman for CenturyLink, explained that it is company policy for employees to identify themselves while working on a property.
“I’ve never been made aware of anybody approaching our technicians with a gun before,” he said.
The company is not releasing the men’s names, but it reported that both returned to work Monday after the incident and they were working Tuesday.
“We’re so happy that our technicians are safe and that the situation did not escalate any further,” Hamman said, offering a thank you to Cape police.
“They’re very grateful to the police, too,” he added of the employees.
CCPD spokesman Lt. Tony Sizemore called the incident an averted tragedy.
“This was a scary situation for these workers and the surrounding neighbors,” he stated in a prepared statement released Tuesday.
Pagano could not be reached for comment.
He has a court appearance scheduled Sept. 10.
In a similar incident, a Cape man was arrested and charged on July 25 for fatally shooting a door-to-door salesman who was outside of his home.
Kenneth Bailey Roop, 52, of 1815 S.W. 30th Terrace, was charged with homicide murder dangerous depraved without premeditation in the shooting death of Nicholas Robert Rainey, 30, of 4541 Palm Beach Blvd., Fort Myers.
On July 25, Cape police responded to numerous calls about a man, later identified as Rainey, who had been shot outside of a home on Southwest 30th Terrace. He was found dead in a driveway with multiple gunshot wounds.
There allegedly was a confrontation between Roop and Rainey, who was working for Blue Ribbon Steak and Seafood. Roop then shot Rainey twice.
Roop has an arraignment scheduled for Aug. 27.