The men and women who protect the streets and residents of Cape Coral and Southwest Florida were honored last week in an annual recognition of first responder efforts.

FOS Furniture and the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral, for the 22nd consecutive year, presented awards for the Cape Coral Police Department Officer of the Year, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Deputy of the Year and Cape Coral Fire Department Firefighter of the Year.

“We are so fortunate in so many ways to able to live in such a wonderful and safe community, and so thankful for our first responders and the great job they all do,” said FOS owner Pat Corlew. “These awards are just to let them and their department know we appreciate all the hard work, time and training that goes into their jobs. Also, the risk they take to keep all of us safe. These are our local heroes, and we do appreciate them.”

Normally a well-attended business after-hours event, Corlew and Chamber President/CEO Donna Germain thanked the first responders for their service to the area outside of FOS and bestowed them with a large plaque engraved with either the police officer or firefighter’s prayer.

Those honored for their service included CCFD Lt. Rob Viera, CCPD Det. Meghan Hicks and LCSO Det. Eric Hurd.

Viera was awarded the honor of Firefighter of the Year due to his dedication, professionalism, passion and commitment to the CCFD, according to officials. He has acquired the skills to be on multiple special discipline teams and continuously shows enthusiasm to obtain more knowledge and master his craft. He is a credentialed paramedic, Public Safety Dive Technician, Field Training Officer, Hazmat Technician and also a member of CCFD’s Honor Guard.

Most recently, Viera has taken the lead of CCFD’s uniform committee.

“FOS Furniture has been recognizing the men and women of the Cape Coral Fire and Police Departments and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for 20 years. I am honored and humbled to now be part of such an impressive group of people,” Viera said of his honor.

CCFD Chief Ryan Lamb added, “I am grateful for this community partnership and for the recognition given the hardworking men and women of the Cape Coral Fire Department. Lieutenant Viera models what CCFD personnel represent on and off duty. He leads from the front and truly puts the organization first in everything he does.”

Hicks was chosen as CCPD’s Officer of the Year due in part to her work on a case involving stolen checks from a local church’s mailbox.

During her investigation, she learned that several additional checks were stolen from other churches as well. Through her persistence and tireless investigation that lasted months, she discovered 24 total churches in Lee County alone that were victims of theft. She was also able to locate victims in other states from South Carolina to Georgia and developed suspects in the greater Orlando area.

“I am very appreciative and honored to have received this award,” Hicks said. “I am thankful for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement who with their hard work and dedication to this investigation were able to bring this case to fruition. I take great pride in my work and feel very fortunate to work for the Cape Coral Police Department and the citizens of Cape Coral.”

Based on Hicks’ work and the assistance of FDLE, two search warrants were executed, tens of thousands of dollars in assets were recovered and six suspects were arrested. All six defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, racketeering, first-degree theft (over $100,000), unlawful possession of personal identification information and money laundering.

“If it wasn’t for Det. Meghan Hicks initial investigation and determination, this case may have not come to fruition the way it did,” said CCPD Master Sgt. Julie Green in a statement. “Detective Hicks, along with the assistance of FDLE, took down a major criminal enterprise responsible for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Hurd’s investigation may have prevented a school tragedy.

On Nov. 12, 2020, LCSO caught wind of a series of threats against Gateway Charter High School that were concerning in nature and threatened the lives of both the staff and students. The following day, additional threats were sent to the school’s principal electronically and again were concerning in nature. The school was ultimately put on lockdown on Nov. 13 due to threats coming from “within” the school.

Hurd searched the Real Time Intelligence Center and worked through a list of former students involved in electronic threats. He followed ISP addresses and matched the phone numbers used by the suspect to threaten the school, and matched the numbers to a VPN using the TextNow app.

Hurd authorized several subpoenas and search warrants, and identified a current Gateway Charter student, Jacob Murphy, as the suspect. Murphy was arrested and charged with two counts of written threats to kill, do bodily injury or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism, one count of disruption of a school function and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

“Detective Hurd is commended for his dedication to duty, persistence and quick response that ensured Murphy would not have an opportunity to hard staff and students within out schools,” said LCSO officials in a statement.

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