Andrea Galabinski Deputy Jarrod Cantrell presents Deputy Julio Lock with the Deputy of the Month Award.

Julio Lock was recently honored as Deputy of the Month for March 2010.

Sgt. Craig Davis, through Lt. Steve Edlin, nominated Lock for the award, and it was presented by Deputy Jarrod Cantrell at the monthly meeting at the North Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce.

“It is with great pleasure to nominate Deputy Julio Lock for Deputy of the month for March 2010,” Davis said. He said that nomination came from an incident that happened on Feb. 26, at approximately 3:06 p.m., when the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an armed robbery occurring at the 7-Eleven store at 916 Pondella Rd.

Deputies were dispatched. Upon arrival, Barlow spoke with the complainant, Shonary Hurley and the victim, Donald Delman.

“Deputy Barlow was able to watch the surveillance video and get a physical description of the suspect and provide the information to other responding units. Deputy Julio Lock responded to the area and observed a white male riding a bicycle through the parking lot of 940 Pondella Road leaving the area of a closed church.”

He said Lock then conducted a stop approximately 200 feet from the 7-Eleven.

“Based on the description of the suspect given out by Deputy Barlow in the armed robbery, Deputy Lock asked the male if he had any weapons on him. The male reached into his waistband and attempted to remove a black colored handgun.”

Davis said Lock acted quickly and removed the handgun from the man and detained him later, determining the handgun was a Taurus replica Air Soft pellet gun.

The white male was observed wearing numerous layers of clothing, including a gray colored short sleeve shirt with a collar and black jean shorts. The second layer of clothing matched the description of the robbery suspect given by Barlow after watching the store video.

The man also had $72 in cash on him. The clerk had reported there could have been close to $70 or $80 in the drawer when it was taken.

“From the fast actions and coordination of, Deputies Barlow and Lock upon arriving on scene, along with Deputy Lock’s attention for detail and professionalism, a dangerous criminal was apprehended within minutes and taken off the streets without further incidents,” officials said.