Lee County grand jury returns indictments on fatal overdose; child, pet sex crimes

A Lee County grand jury indicted two men — one related to a drug death, the other linked to child sex abuse, but only one will face the death penalty, State Attorney Amira Fox announced Wednesday.

Fox explained the other won't face capital punishment due to a recent change in legislation. She said the grand jury returned the indictments Tuesday.

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Anthony Hicks, 22, of Fort Myers, is charged with first-degree murder; unlawful distribution of controlled substance, a capital felony; and one count of trafficking in fentanyl, Fox said.

Fox said Hicks was in possession of four or more grams, as well as a firearm. She said the crime happened between Oct. 25 and the following day.

"The defendant in this case made the decision to sell a fentanyl pill and place what the victim thought was a Percocet to this 25-year-old woman, thus taking her life," Fox said.

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Fox said the sheriff's office arrested Hicks on Wednesday morning.

"Today's historic day," Sheriff Carmine Marceno said. "We're talking about taking a hard stance and how we will not tolerate those that peddle deadly poison in Lee County."

Marceno said they're "at a war with drugs," while touching base on the recent creation of a task force focused on investigating fatal overdoses. By Jan. 25, the unit created Nov. 23 focused on combatting overdose deaths, was already investigating 17 cases.

Hicks was booked into the Collier County Sheriff's Office, although no bond information was available. The sheriff's office didn't specify why Hicks was taken into custody in Collier County, although jail records there indicate he was booked in as a fugitive from justice.

Lee County Jail records indicate he was arrested Oct. 27, 2023, on charges of trafficking fentanyl and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was released Dec. 7, 2023, on $70,000 bond.

After the State Attorney's Office's announcement, the sheriff's office explained on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the crime happened in Estero.

Man indicted in sex abuse of child, animal

In an unrelated case, Fox announced the indictment of Jeremy Brian Brumbaugh, 19, of Lehigh Acres, on four counts of capital sexual battery on a child younger than 12; two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, both life felonies; and one count of sexual activity with an animal, a third-degree felony,

Fox said that on several dates in 2023, in Lee County, Brumbaugh committed a sexual battery upon a child, and intentionally touched a child.

The indictment reads in part that Brumbaugh "intentionally and knowingly" engaged in sexual conduct with the animal and knowingly film or possess any pornographic image or video of a person or animal engaged in sexual conduct.

As of Oct. 1, the charges of capital sexual battery of a minor qualify as a capital crime in Florida. Because the crimes happened before the effective date, Brumbaugh remains ineligible for the death penalty, however, Fox issued a warning.

Jail records weren't immediately available for Brumbaugh on Wednesday afternoon.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Lee County grand jury indicts two on separate charges