Robert Gibbons Jr.

Lee County Sheriff’s detectives are expected to close their investigation today into the death of a man who stole a van and ended up crashing it into a house in Lehigh Acres during the evening of New Year’s Day. The man who died in the crash was identified as Robert Gibbons Jr., 46, who last known home address was listed by the Sheriff’s Office as 1110 Harry Ave. in Lehigh.

According to Tony Shaw, a spokesman with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, officials received a call concerning a man who was being belligerent and was refusing to leave the Dollar General store at 701 Gretchen Ave. South in Lehigh.

Deputies were sent to the site following the 8:30 p.m. call and on their way, more calls came in telling law officials that the suspect had stolen a tan Dodge van from the store’s parking lot.

It was later learned that a store customer had kept a spare set of keys in his van and while he was in the store, the suspect was able to find the keys and take off in the vehicle, which the detectives said was a vehicular theft.

They said two people said they saw the man jump into the van and take off and believing the van was being stolen, they followed it until it crashed into a home at 741 Harry Ave. South.

When it struck the house it crashed through the garage and struck two vehicles. Nobody in the house was injured.

However, the Sheriff’s Office report said the driver of the van died as a result of his injuries received at the crash scene.

Gibbons, 46, had been arrested on Oct. 29, 2014 and was charged on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly intoxication causing a disturbance in a public place. In 2013, he was charged with resisting an officer.