Maintenance employee accused of stealing wedding ring, cash from safes at Fort Myers Beach resort

A Cape Coral man was arrested on Monday after being accused of stealing cash, pills, and a wedding ring from safes at a Fort Myers Beach resort. According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office arrest report, deputies responded to Pointe Estero Beach Resort at around 5:19 p.m in reference to a burglary. The victims told deputies they were walking to the lobby to print boarding passes when they saw a maintenance worker, identified as Evan Liang, 23, exit the elevator. The victims returned to their rooms after printing their boarding passes only to find Liang inside, the report said. Liang told the victims he was performing emergency maintenance and checking room safes. Liang was holding a silver master key capable of opening the safes. Liang left the room but returned shortly afterward and again told the victims he needed to check the safe, the report said. One of the victims became suspicious and checked the safe, discovering that a wedding ring and cash from his wallet, which had been inside the safe, were missing. The victims told Liang they were going to call law enforcement, causing Liang to immediately leave the room, the report said. After deputies arrived, they canvassed the area and found Liang leaving the building while carrying a gray keypad with attached wiring, the report said. Deputies stopped Liang and searched him, finding cash and the master safe key. The cash found on Liang matched the amount that the victim reported missing. While deputies were speaking with Liang, two additional victims approached and reported that they were missing cash, about 90 oxycodone pills, a prescription bottle, and zolpidem pills from their room, the report said. Deputies did not find the missing wedding ring or medication on Liang. Deputies interviewed a maintenance supervisor at the resort, who told them that Liang had requested the master key after saying a guest could not open their safe, the report said. Liang was shown where the key was stored and was told to bring the key back immediately after use. Liang was arrested and faces three charges of grand theft. 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