PORT CHARLOTTE — Microtel Inn & Suites general manager Kurt Nusbaum was at his home in North Fort Myers late Wednesday when he received a call that U.S. marshals wanted access to a room on the property.

He hustled to the hotel, and by the time he had reached the scene, he had just missed alleged fugitive Jacob Frank Scott leaping from a third-floor window in an attempt to escape.

“Nobody here knew he was in the hotel,” Nusbaum said Thursday. “How he didn’t break his ankles when he jumped from the window, I have no idea.”

Scott, 29, of Winston-Salem, N.C., was wanted in connection with two alleged Bank of America robberies. The first took place July 16 in Winston-Salem, and the most recent took place Wednesday in the Whiskey Creek community of Lee County.

During the Whiskey Creek robbery, Scott allegedly handed a note to a bank teller demanding money, although it’s unknown if he actually received any cash.

According to a report, an anonymous tip led authorities to the Microtel, located on the 400 block of Tamiami Trail, where Scott allegedly leaped to the ground from a third-floor window, where he then was apprehended by a Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit. Scott was attempting to access the hotel’s roof prior to his jump, the report states.

Nusbaum said, to his knowledge, the anonymous tip did not come from hotel staff or guests. Nusbaum added that most guests were not aware of the situation as it unfolded because of the time it occurred, between 11:30 p.m. Wednesday and
12:30 a.m. Thursday.

Nusbaum added that Scott had a female with him during the time of his capture, but it’s unclear who the woman was or what her relationship was to Scott. The woman was not taken away in handcuffs by authorities, Nusbaum said, but did leave with them.

Calls to the U.S. Marshals Service in Fort Myers went unanswered, while Lee County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sgt. Stephanie Eller said she was unaware of the female’s identity.

Nusbaum added that several guests came and went during the incident, but they either ignored or didn’t care what the situation was.

“They never even asked what was going on,” Nusbaum said.

Scott is being held at the Charlotte County Jail. Extradition plans still were being sorted out because he is wanted in two states in connection with the bank robberies.

Email: dwinchester@sun-herald.com