Nate Allen Cleared

nate allen imageAs reported here last Monday, February 16, the Fort Myers Police Department detained Nate Allen as a suspect in an indecent exposure complaint involving a juvenile female.

Allen was released without being charged, but the investigation was classified as ongoing.

A week later, on February 23, the FMPD released a report on the incident. To paraphrase, it went down like this –

At 4:53 p.m. on February 16, a Monday, a 16-year-old female phoned 911 and reported seeing a man exposing himself. She was traveling on Cleveland Avenue next to a black four-door pickup truck, possibly a Ford F-150 of F-250. Inside the pickup was a bi-racial male, 45-55, wearing a red shirt and white hat, with a goatee – and he was exposing himself.

The victim said the vehicle turned into a parking lot on Cleveland Avenue.

Officers were dispatched to the scene and one officer immediately observed a black four-door Ford F-250 pickup turning off of Cleveland Avenue and onto Colonial Boulevard. The officer pulled alongside the vehicle and looked at the driver. He saw a bi-racial male with a goatee who was wearing a red shirt and white cap – the description matched the suspect.

The officer stopped the vehicle.

The driver of that vehicle was Nate Allen.

When the officer asked Nate Allen about his recent whereabouts, Allen told the officer that he was traveling on Cleveland Avenue after eating at Red Lobster. The whereabouts matched the suspect’s whereabouts at the time of the incident.

Another officer transported the victim to the scene of the arrest, and she identified Nate Allen as the man she’d seen exposing himself.

Police transported Nate Allen to the police station.

While one team of detectives was taking the victim’s statement, another was questioning Nate Allen. Afterward, Allen was placed in a holding cell while the detectives kept working.

In Allen’s defense, he produced a receipt from Red Lobster, which after some follow-up work, was sufficient to release Allen – at least for the time being.

Over the next few days, detectives obtained surveillance videos that showed a black Ford pickup truck traveling alongside the victim’s vehicle along Cleveland Avenue at the time of the complaint.

Several minutes later on the video, another black pickup was seen traveling on Cleveland Avenue – this was Allen’s pickup.

The two vehicle were similar, but the rims differed from one to the next.

FMPD then concluded that Nate Allen was in no way involved.

The investigation is ongoing to locate the suspect.

Barry Bowe is the author of 12 Best Eagles QBs and 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant.

Written by Barry Bowe
Former sportswriter - first to put Timmy Duncan's name on the sports page.