Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller (l) and suspect Wisner Desmaret
Wisner Desmaret, who is accused of shooting a Fort Myers police officer in the head, has a string of previous criminal cases in the Florida court system, and ICE has filed an immigration detainer against him. Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller died from his injuries on July 28, 2018, after a week of fighting for his life.
ICE confirmed to Heavy: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed a detainer July 22 against Haitian national Wisner Desmaret following his arrest by the Fort Myers Police Department on charges to include attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.”
In numerous previous court cases in Florida counties – for things such as burglary and trespassing – Desmaret escaped conviction. Just days before the shooting of the officer, he was released by a judge in Sarasota County on pretrial supervision after he was accused of cocaine possession. Desmaret’s father told Fox News that his son had originally come to the United States from Haiti legally on a visa, but ICE now has filed an immigration detainer hold on Desmaret.
NBC-2 reported that Desmaret was in the country illegally.
Desmaret was described as homeless in one court document, and, records reviewed by Heavy show, cases against him were repeatedly no processed and, in some cases, were dismissed after findings of incompetency due to “intellectual disability.” In one 2010 case, an ICE hold is listed in the court records. It was not the only time, according to news reports, as ICE was also alerted about him in 2008. You can read many of the court documents in the case below.
However, despite that past, on July 21, 2018, Wisner Desmaret, a former youth boxer from Haiti who often said he was indigent in court, was free on the streets to encounter Fort Myers Police Officer Jobbers-Miller. Jobbers-Miller was shot in the head by Desmaret, according to police, and the Fort Myers Police Department announced on July 28, 2018 that Jobbers-Miller had tragically passed away.
“It is with a heavy heart that we inform our community that Fort Myers Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller has passed away as a result of the injuries sustained on Saturday, July 21st,” Fort Myers police said in a statement. “We ask that you continue to pray for Officer Jobbers-Miller’s family, friends and our entire Fort Myers Police Department Family.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Police Accuse Wisner Desmaret of Shooting Jobbers-Miller After the Officer Was Called to a Gas Station
According to the Fort Myers Police Department, Officer Jobbers-Miller was wounded at 7:30 p.m. “while answering a call at the Marathon Gas station on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Fort Myers.”
“Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller was shot by an assailant and immediately rushed to the Lee Memorial Hospital Trauma Center by a fellow officer where he underwent emergency surgery and is currently listed in critical but stable condition. A suspect is in custody at this time,” the police said.
The suspect is 29-year-old Wisner Desmaret, according to police. Desmaret was taken to the hospital with a non life-threatening injury and is in custody, police said. “Wisner Desmaret is the only suspect in this case. We’ve got our guy. We’ve got our man,” said the Fort Myers police chief, Derrick Diggs.
Police said a 911 call came in from a citizen at the Marathon gas station, who reported seeing a subject assault a group of young males and take a cell phone from their vehicle. Officers arrived and checked the area. The suspect had already fled. A short time later, the officers made contact with Desmaret, who matched the description. The suspect fled from the officers, police allege, and Officer Jobbers-Miller was shot and injured while he was attempting to take Desmaret into custody in a foot chase. Desmaret was then taken into custody by additional responding officers.
The suspect was positively identified by victims and witnesses, said the police chief.
“Words cannot express the emotions running through the Fort Myers Police family at this time,” said Chief Diggs. “Our department spent the night in anxious anticipation as our comrade and co-worker underwent lifesaving surgery. We are grateful to the many people and agencies who have expressed their support, to the medical professionals who rushed to save him and to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) for their immediate assistance with this situation.”
Police said that Jobbers-Miller was only 29-years-old and had been a member of the Fort Myers Police Department since September 2015.
“It’s been some tough days around here for us,” the police chief said.
2. Desmaret, a Haitian Immigrant, Now Has an ICE Hold Against Him, Reports Say
“I’m always worrying about people trying to kill me”&”some of those people are supposed to be serving and protecting [me].” This is a hand-written letter that Wisner Desmaret sent a judge 2 months before he allegedly shot @fortmyerspolice officer Jobbers-Miller. @NBC2 #NBC2 #FMPD
News2 reported that ICE has confirmed that Desmaret “is an undocumented immigrant from Haiti.” A detainer has now been filed against Desmaret by ICE. He faces eight charges after the shooting of the officer.
According to the News-Press, Wisner Desmaret was born in Haiti and had been in the United States since at least the age of 9.
At age 19, the newspaper wrote a story about Desmaret after he was released from a juvenile facility and “was involved in the Police Athletic League Boxing Academy,” according to the News Press.
It wasn’t the first time that Desmaret has come to the attention of ICE. In 2008, he was released to the custody of ICE by Glades County, reported the newspaper.
However, John Demaret, Wisner’s father, told Fox News, “He’s not a citizen, he’s not a citizen. But he came legally. He had a visa, he came legally.” Fox News quoted an attorney who said the ICE hold might have been prompted by Demaret overstaying his visa. However, ICE wouldn’t comment because he’s not in their custody now. “Should he enter ICE custody at that time we would be able to provide you with case-specific details,” ICE told heavy.
3. Desmaret Has a Lengthy List of Past Criminal Court Cases in Florida
MugshotWisner Desmaret
Multiple cases come up for Wisner Desmaret in Lee and Sarasota Counties in Florida court records over the past decade. In case after case, prosecutors didn’t proceed or, in some recent cases, Wisner was found incompetent due to mental health issues. He wrote a letter in one 2016 case “talking about angels coming to save him,” WINK News reported.
In the recent Sarasota County case, two psychologists had testified that Desmaret was competent to stand trial if he received treatment, according to NBC 2. He was then released under pre-trial supervision just days before the officer’s murder, the television station reported. That case was for cocaine possession. His pre-trial supervision was revoked after the officer was shot.
Here’s the court order releasing him on bond. It’s dated July 19, 2018 – two days before Jobbers-Miller was shot.
He was listed as having no phone and no address.
Another Sarasota case for resisting an officer was dismissed in May 2018 after a finding of incompetence.
Desmaret also had many cases in Lee County. In some of those cases, he was found incompetent even though, in at least one case, a prosecutor accused him of malingering. “It really came down to a judgment call. Like I said in both reports, I couldn’t really do the formal question and answer competency evaluation, so it came down to clinical judgment,” Dr. Pat Capozzoli said, according to NBC 2. “Even though he didn’t cooperate, I felt there was enough to support an intellectual disability.”
One recent case for having an open container of alcohol was dismissed when he was found incompetent. In that case, according to court records, a deputy allegedly saw Desmaret enter the Lee County Justice Center holding a can of Bud Light beer. The deputy told Desmaret to “put the beer down and step outside,” and alleged that Desmaret refused, telling the deputy “f*ck you.” The deputy alleged in the complaint narrative, “He then took a drink of the beer and (downed) drank a 99% 50ML bottle of Pineapple Liqueur that was in his left hand. At the time, I told him to put the alcoholic beverages down. He stated again F*ck you!”
In 2016, Desmaret faced seven charges, all dismissed, for things ranging from burglary to theft. He was found incompetent in that case due to an “intellectual disability,” court records show. Judge Joseph Fuller then dismissed the charges.
Here is more of the court record:
Wisner Desmaret court record.
In 2015, Desmaret was accused of criminal damage to property and hindering firefighting equipment. In this case, officers had received numerous calls “about a male that was not acting normal.” They even received a call from Desmaret, who called 911 to report that “everyone was against him.” They allegedly found him at an intersection with his clothing saturated with water.
Police were told by a Subway restaurant employee that Wisner was allegedly “sitting at a table by himself for a long period of time this afternoon.” A customer came in and bought him a sandwich, but he was accused of going into the bathroom and banging on something and yelling. When the employee checked on him in the bathroom, Desmaret was allegedly “standing in the bathroom by himself while the water from the fire suppression system was pouring down and stated, ‘they are trying to kill me’ and then ran out of the store. He had ripped the sink out of the wall damaging it.”
Again, he was found incompetent to proceed by “intellectual disability,” and the charges were dismissed.
In 2015, he was charged with disorderly conduct/brawling and resisting an officer. He wasn’t prosecuted:
He was allegedly observed walking in the middle of the street. A patron of a shopping center pointed him out as causing a disturbance. Family and friends showed up and an officer gave him verbal commands to stop his actions and Desmaret refused, the records allege. He was causing a disturbance at several stores, records alleged.
The officers took a tactical approach to take him into custody because he had a professional boxing background. At one point he aggressively pulled away from an officer and started yelling, according to the accusations.
In 2014, Desmaret was accused of trespassing. He was accused of walking down the middle of the road and allegedly couldn’t provide identification. He was allegedly walking within the Fort Myers Housing Authority Zone. The case was not prosecuted.
In 2011, he was accused of a municipal ordinance violation for consuming alcoholic beverages/carrying an open container. He was ultimately referred to a collections agency in the case. He also had minor traffic infractions.
In 2011, he was accused in a string of charges – seven in all – ranging from possession of weapon or ammo to burglary to grand theft of firearm.
Police received a 911 call about a burglary in progress and found a window open and allegedly saw Desmaret exiting out of the window armed with a .22 caliber rifle. He was ordered to stop but refused and ran away, after dropping the weapon to the ground. A SWAT team arrived after he allegedly entered another home. They eventually found him in a closet hiding under clothes, the court documents allege.
The rifle and a handgun were stolen from the residence, the documents allege. Some of the court documents list a slightly different date of birth, but the main Lee County court record website confirms the case was also for the Wisner Desmaret with the date of birth provided by the police chief.
The court record says he had already been “twice convicted of felonies in the State of Florida” by that point.
The case also resulted in a non-prosecution.
In 2011, Desmaret had another case for allegedly resisting an officer, drugs, and smuggling contraband into a detention facility. In that case, in a document declaring indigency and seeking a public defender, Desmaret said he only had $14 cash as assets.
Two of the charges were also not prosecuted, and no disposition was given for a third.
In 2011, Desmaret was also accused of burglary, grand theft larceny, and marijuana possession. No information was listed under disposition. That report said he was homeless and reported that a woman reported her door was partially open and there was damage to the lock. Items taken in the burglary included a flat screen television and Internet router. A witness said he saw a man run through his yard and found a television covered with a white sheet on his porch. The officer canvassed the area and allegedly discovered Desmaret wearing clothing described by the witness and out of breath as if he had been running and sweating profusely. His fingerprints allegedly were found on the TV, and he was accused of possessing marijuana.
Charges were not filed, although it’s not clear why.
In another case that year, Desmaret was accused of trespassing. A woman claimed he had run into her apartment without permission and refused to leave. Officers found him sitting on a sofa in the living room, and he allegedly refused initially to provide his name. An officer found a bag with cocaine. He was found guilty in this case. He received credit for time served.
In 2010, he was accused of three felonies: Burglary, possessing burglary tools and grant theft larceny. The court records indicate there was an ICE hold issued in the case on August 29, 2010.
A man woke up at 1 a.m. and entered his home office and noticed glass on the floor and his computer missing. He had observed a vehicle take off. The window was smashed with a crowbar. Eventually police were led to Desmaret, and his neighbor told police that Desmerat and his friend were involved, court records allege.
The case was not prosecuted.
The prosecution said there was “insufficient evidence” against Desmaret to prove the case that time.
Thirteen confidential cases also come up for Desmaret in the system.
3. The Community Rallied Around Jobbers-Miller With Blood Donations & Fundraisers
Officer Jobbers-Miller
The Fort Myers Police Department had kept people updated on the officer’s progress on Facebook. There was hope at first. On Friday, July 27, 2018, one day before the officer died, the police wrote, “There is no change in his condition. He remains stable but critical at Lee Memorial Hospital. We continue to ask for payers and support for Officer Jobbers-Miller, his family and the Fort Myers Police Department.” The department outlined a long list of businesses offering fundraisers to help the officer and his family.
A GoFundMe page to help the officer’s family has raised more than $56,000. The community also responded with blood donations to help the injured officer.
“The Fort Myers Police Department would like to extend our gratitude for the overwhelming response to a call for blood donations for Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller. The large number of donors who arrived and waited in line at Lee Memorial Hospital was a true symbol of community support and a testament to the spirit of SWFL law enforcement members and citizens,” the police wrote on July 24. “Lee Health reports that that the surgeries and following treatments have helped and Officer Jobbers-Miler is showing positive signs. His status is still listed as stable but critical.”
Sadly, however, the officer did not pull through.
5. Desmaret Once Showed Promise as a Youth Boxer Known as the ‘Haitian Sensation’
.@fortmyerspolice has released the name of the suspect in Saturday’s shooting involving officer Adam Jobbers-Miller as 29 year old Wisner Desmaret.
Officer Miller is still in critical but stable condition.
The suspect is still being treated w/ non-life threatening injuries.
The News Press article described how Wisner Desmaret once showed promise as a youth boxer.
The article says that Desmaret was called the “Haitian Sensation” when he boxed and “he won his first championship belt at a tournament in Tampa in 2008.”
He once credited boxing with helping him earn early release from a detention facility and with stopping him from smoking and drinking, according to The News Press.
“He was our state champion,” said Larry Willis, his coach, to the newspaper at the time.