Lehigh Acres home builder reports vandals smash $5K worth of windows

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. —

Yamireliz Matos discovered that the new home she is building in Lehigh Acres was vandalized on Wednesday, with $5,000 worth of brand new impact windows smashed near State Road 82 and Columbus Boulevard South.

"I'm assuming either maybe kids. I want to hope it was no one with ill intention. But you never know," Matos said.

Initially, Matos thought the damage was caused by a baseball bat due to the severity of the destruction. However, upon entering the home, she found broken cinderblock pieces under a shattered window.

"I was like, what the heck? That's like, I just, I was in shock," she said.

Matos and her fiancé noted that the windows were intact as of Monday.

"It's literally all dirt roads with just it's all dirt all around. No one really comes to this side if you're not living here," Matos said.

Matos and her fiancé build and sell homes for a living with Roman Brothers Investments, and the windows have already been replaced to keep the project on track. However, the incident has financial implications.

"It sets back whoever is going to buy the house. We have to put more money out of our pocket," Matos said.

She mentioned a similar incident occurred last year at another property, where a window was shattered, and someone pooped in the bathtub.

Matos reported Wednesday's vandalism to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, which is now investigating the incident.

"We have to start setting up cameras. You don't think it's going to happen to your project, but it will," Matos said.

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