Larceny / Theft in Lee County, Florida

Lee County prosecutes theft cases far more aggressively than the state average. The 81.9 percent guilty rate is accompanied by a dismissal rate of just 0.5 percent—nearly four times lower than Florida's 1.8 percent statewide average. The withheld adjudication rate of 12.9 percent is also notably below the state average of 16.1 percent, suggesting Lee County judges are less likely to spare defendants a formal conviction. Diversion programs, which allow defendants to avoid conviction entirely through program completion, reach only 3.5 percent of theft defendants here compared to 8.5 percent statewide. The data indicates a prosecution strategy focused on conviction rather than alternative resolution.

Sentencing outcomes reflect this enforcement posture. While the median sentence is 127.5 days, the average stretches to 414.4 days, indicating some cases receive substantially longer terms. Nearly half of convicted defendants face confinement—11.2 percent in prison and 37.4 percent in jail—with probation averaging over 700 days. Public defender representation covers 17.8 percent of cases, while only 5.7 percent had private attorneys, suggesting most defendants lack private counsel resources to challenge the high conviction rate.