Richard and Axel named deputies of the month

The Lee County Sheriff's Office named the following employees and volunteers award-winners for July. The winners are:

Deputy of the Month - Cpl. William Richard and K-9 Axel

Together, Cpl. William Richard and Axel teamed to apprehend an armed bank robbery suspect. The incident unfolded in the afternoon on July 9 after the Sheriff's Office received a call from the Bank of America located on Palm Beach Boulevard at Old Olga Road.

Richard and Axel were patrolling the area due to the recent rash of bank robberies. Within one minute Corporal Richard arrived on scene. He spotted the suspect running between some buildings near Old Olga Road and released Axel. The suspect turned and started shooting. Richard returned fire while taking cover. Moments later, Axel was able to fully engage the suspect and take him to the ground. The suspect dropped his handgun and Richard was able to handcuff the suspect.

Civilian of the Month - Becky J. Stoddard

On July 25 the Lee County Sheriff's Office received a call reporting the possible location of a homicide suspect wanted in Collier County. The caller had seen the suspect's photo on television and provided vehicle tax information. Supervisor Stoddard of Lehigh Acres took the initiative to do further research and matched a photo of the vehicle owner with that of a suspect on the Collier County Website. She dispatched a deputy to follow up, leading to the arrest of the murder suspect.

Volunteer of the Month - James G. Collier

Volunteer James Collier of Fort Myers joined the Sheriff's Office V.O.I.C.E. program in 2004, devoting most of his time and volunteer hours to the county's west district office. He helps out with the Citizen's Academy and has recently been assisting the Auto Theft Unit. That allows detectives to focus more time on more proactive duties. Since he started volunteering in 2004, Collier has given more than 800 hours of his time to the Sheriff's office. ¦