Four thieves charged after Hurricane Ian in Florida

• Four Floridians were accused of looting.
• Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno has previously warned potential looters.
• Ortiz was charged with petit larceny.

Following Hurricane Ian, four Floridians were detained and accused of looting as thousands of Sunshine State citizens and business owners attempted to recover from the devastating hurricane.

According to jail records, Lee County sheriff’s officers detained Omar Mejia Ortiz, 33, Valerie Celeste Salcedo Mena, 26, Brandon Mauricio Araya, 20, and Steve Eduardo Sanchez Araya, also 20, on Thursday on suspicion of breaking into an unoccupied building during a state of emergency.

Along with Mena, Brandon, Steve, and Arayas were accused of grand larceny. Ortiz was charged with petit larceny.

It’s unclear if any of the four defendants accused with looting are on the video, which showed five people sitting handcuffed for looting in a devastated area of Fort Myers the day before the four were detained.

Following the Category 4 storm that inflicted billions of dollars in damages, Florida officials, including Governor Ron DeSantis, have cautioned against ransacking vacant homes and businesses.

“Don’t even consider stealing. Don’t even consider exploiting those who are in this precarious position. Therefore, local law enforcement is involved in overseeing that, DeSantis said at a news conference on Friday.

Prospective robbers have previously been warned by Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno to “better think again.”

“When I say zero tolerance, I mean that we will look for you, find you, and put you in jail. If you’re fortunate,” he added.