Punta Gorda man accused of string of golf cart thefts in Lee County

LEE COUNTY, Fla. —

A Punta Gorda man was arrested after being accused of stealing at least four golf carts in Lee County.

>>Video above: Headlines for Feb. 6, 2026

According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the River Hall Community Center in Alva on Feb. 2.

Deputies spoke with the victim, who said he had parked his golf cart in the parking lot at the River Hall Country Club building and went golfing. The victim said when he returned, his golf cart was gone, the LCSO said.

The victim was still in possession of his golf cart key, and nobody had permission to take his golf cart, the LCSO said.

On Feb. 3, the victim reached out to deputies and told them he had seen video surveillance of the golf cart leaving the country club gatehouse with an unknown person driving it, the LCSO said.

The victim also spoke with people who had potentially interacted with the driver of the stolen golf cart, who said that they possibly saw the golf cart being loaded onto a trailer at a Circle K on Palm Beach Boulevard and South Olga Drive, the LCSO said.

Deputies noted that this was the fifth reported incident of golf cart theft in Lee County in recent weeks, with others being stolen on Jan. 20, Jan. 22, Jan. 26, Jan. 30 and Feb. 1.

On Feb. 2, the victim in the Jan. 20 theft contacted deputies and told them he saw his stolen golf cart for sale on Facebook.

On Feb. 3, deputies conducted a traffic stop on a car being driven by the person accused of selling the stolen golf cart. The driver cooperated with deputies and gave them the name Robert Ederer, whom the driver said he works with, the LCSO said.

The driver said that Ederer arrived at his house with a stolen golf cart, according to the LCSO.

Deputies located Ederer's home in Babcock Ranch. They spoke to Ederer's wife, due to Ederer not being home at the time. She opened the garage for them, revealing two golf carts, the LCSO said.

Ederer returned to his home, where deputies interviewed him.

Deputies recovered the two golf carts from the garage, and Ederer delivered a third golf cart to an LCSO substation. The LCSO said one stolen golf cart is still missing in this case.

Ederer was arrested and faces four charges of grand theft and one charge of burglary of an occupied dwelling, unarmed.

DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.