LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- Investigators announced Thursday that they've made an arrest in the murder of a taxi driver in Lehigh Acres on Saturday.
20-year-old Ricky Ligonde is facing charges of Murder and Robbery with a Firearm.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the charges stem from an incident on April 7th, 2018. That's when deputies responded to a vehicle crash at 31st Street W. and Ruth Avenue.
They arrived to find a minivan with a deceased driver, Hinso Estriplet, the victim of gunshot wounds. The victim is described as a self-employed taxi driver.
"(Estriplet) was just a great guy all around," said his friend and fellow taxi driver Joseph Cenatus. "Somebody you would call not only a friend, but a brother."
"He didn't deserve this," Cenatus added.
Investigators say Estriplet was set up for a robbery.
"It appears the victim was set up for his crime, and then brutally and senselessly murdered," said Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno.
Further investigation led authorities to a home in the 4600 block of 26th Street SW in Lehigh Acres, where they arrested Ligonde on Thursday. He remains in custody in the Lee County Jail.
"I'm so relieved," Cenatus said. "I had so many doubts in my mind."
Cenatus, who has a camera in his cab for security, believes that if Estriplet's killer had seen a camera in his taxi, things might have turned out differently.
"The perpetrator would see that there's a camera, a radio, different systems...to alert police," Cenatus said. "I think he would be here today."
This is an active investigation.
