22 arcade machines stolen from Fort Myers business, suspect arrested

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — A man is now in custody after 22 arcade gaming machines worth around $95,000 were stolen from a Fort Myers business, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

Renan Castilhos, 34, faces charges of burglary of an unoccupied structure and grand theft. According to authorities, the theft occurred in the early morning hours on September 23.

The business owner told detectives he had recently moved into the location and was preparing to open an adult arcade, still waiting on a final inspection from Lee County.

He said the 22 gaming machines had been delivered just two to three days before the break-in, between Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, and were installed throughout the unit, with several mounted directly to the walls.

At the scene, deputies found a large hole in the front glass door, shattered glass, broken ceiling tiles, a security camera torn from the ceiling and wall damage where the machine fasteners had been ripped away.

Surveillance footage from a nearby business captured a suspect breaking the front glass door with a blunt object and entering the unit between 3:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The suspect then returned with a silver pickup truck and a black enclosed trailer, making three trips over about 1.5 hours to remove all of the gaming machines from the business.

Further investigation led detectives to a nearby Public Storage facility, where surveillance footage and records helped identify Castilhos.

Records showed Castilhos had leased a storage unit at the facility the day before the break-in and was seen traveling to and from the unit during the same timeframe as the theft.

On Thursday, Detectives obtained a search warrant for the storage unit and recovered several items of evidence connected to the break-in, though the gaming machines were not found there. On Friday, a second search warrant was served at Castilhos' home and his vehicle. Additional evidence connected to the break-in was recovered from the home.

Castilhos was arrested and charged with breaking into an unoccupied structure and theft of property valued between $20,000 and $100,000.

He was later transferred to the Lee County Jail.