Deputies make arrest in 2015 Lehigh Acres case linked to child sex trafficking
Lee County Sheriff's detectives believe they've solved a 2015 murder case where they found a victim burned in Lehigh Acres in a dispute involving child sex trafficking.
They found and arrested Sunni Rasshad Jahbari, 31, in Los Angeles, and booked him Dec. 10 into Lee County Jail where he faces charges of second-degree murder, human trafficking, and robbery with a firearm in connection to a 2015 homicide investigation.
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On September 21, 2015, deputies responded to a car fire at Venetia Street East and Naples Avenue D in Lehigh, where they discovered charred human remains, a news release reports. The medical examiner determined the victim died from a gunshot wound with the fire set as an attempt to destroy evidence.
The Sheriff's Office did not release the name of the victim.
Investigators learned the victim contacted a girl, 15, using the website "Backpage," which is a known site used to solicit escorts. The arrest information indicates he contacted the girl multiple times the day of his death and her number was the last one he contacted.
The report said detectives tracked a phone number to a Lehigh Acres home, where cell phone records indicate the girl and the victim met that day.
Cell phone records and tower locations from the victim and minors' phones placed them at the same area in Lehigh Acres on the day of the victim's death.
While detectives searched the home, they found little evidence and over the next few years followed tips and information. The sheriff's office reports that investigative techniques, timing, and placing new information together led them to Jahbari.
They learned Jahbari had fought the victim over the girl, and Jahbari shot the victim.
Los Angeles police recently arrested Jabari on attempted murder charge, accusing him of shooting a person in the leg, the report indicates. From there, he arrived in Lee County, where he is in Lee County Jail and held without bond.
He is due in court on Monday.
Stacey Henson is the breaking news and visuals editor for The News-Press. You may reach her at shenson@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Deputies say Fort Myers man killed man in 2015, set body on fire