Judge issues bench warrant for third man accused of using dead person's ID

A judge this week issued a bench warrant for a third man accused of using a dead person's ID after he failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing as Hurricane Helene approached.

Brandon Burke, 36, of Opa-Locka, who faces a bench warrant after he did not appear Tuesday for a pretrial conference before Lee Circuit Judge Margaret Steinbeck, was arrested in January along with Travis Mitchell, 38, of Fort Myers, and Marcus Smith, 35, of Fort Myers.

Around 1:45 p.m. Jan. 6, Fort Myers police responded to the AT&T at 4928 S. Cleveland Ave. in reference to two men who attempted to purchase equipment under the identity of a deceased person.

Police said an employee recognized the men from a similar attempt at a Naples location.

Police said they detained one of the men and were directed by employees that the other men were leaving in a car.

The vehicle hit a sign and drove away before the stop, police said.

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Police said their investigation ended with the arrests of Mitchell, Burke and Smith on several charges:

• Mitchell faces charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage; driving with a suspended or revoked license; and accessory after the fact.
• Burke faces charges of obstruction of justice by tampering with evidence in a criminal proceeding and two counts of using or possessing the ID of a dead person.
• Smith faces charges of knowingly or intentionally possessing five or more IDs due to his attempt to use the fraudulent identification with his photo and the deceased man's information; an additional count of knowingly or intentionally possessing five or more IDs due to his possession of eight fraudulent identifications with his photo on them; and out-of-county warrants for Collier, Alachua and Broward counties.

Smith has faced a bench warrant since May 8, and authorities have been searching for Mitchell since July 17.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran , Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews .

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Judge issues bench warrant for third man accused of using dead person's ID