Investigators say the woman was found after a long search on rural dirt trails near Babcock Ranch.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — A North Fort Myers man is jailed without bond after deputies said he fired an AK-47-style rifle at his now ex-girlfriend and then strangled and beat her at a late-night bonfire party in a remote area of Charlotte County.
Authorities said the alleged attack happened Nov. 30, 2025, near Cook Brown Road by Babcock Ranch, where large weekend gatherings draw hundreds of riders on side-by-sides and four-wheelers. Deputies said the woman was hard to reach on back trails and that it took about 45 minutes for first responders to find her. The arrest adds new charges to a domestic battery case and comes as neighbors raise concerns about safety at the parties.
According to an arrest affidavit summarized by investigators, the incident began shortly after the bonfire gathering ended late Nov. 30. Deputies said the man, identified as Brent Null of North Fort Myers, became angry after seeing the woman deleting text messages while she rode in a side-by-side with a friend. Investigators said Null then fired three rounds from an AK-47-style rifle at the woman but did not hit her. After the shots, deputies said he caught up with her and attacked her in the same remote area along Cook Brown Road, an unpaved stretch lined with dirt spurs and ATV trails that can be difficult for patrol cars and ambulances to navigate.
Deputies said the woman reported being strangled, beaten and bitten on the ear during the assault. The affidavit described repeated attacks while she waited for help in an area with limited access. Investigators said the response was slowed because of the terrain and the maze of trails used by riders during the gatherings. Deputies said the woman did not immediately report the full details because she was afraid and had been threatened. The affidavit said Null was accused of threatening to kill her, and investigators said that fear helped explain why some information surfaced later.
Null was arrested on Nov. 30, 2025, on a charge of domestic battery by strangulation, investigators said. Months later, authorities said additional allegations and evidence led to new charges connected to the same night. On Friday, Feb. 20, Charlotte County deputies re-arrested Null and booked him into the Charlotte County jail, adding felony counts that include kidnapping an adult for ransom or as a shield, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, and tampering in a felony third-degree proceeding.
Separately, Cape Coral police arrested Null on Thursday, Feb. 19, and booked him into the Lee County Jail in an unrelated case, authorities said. An affidavit in that matter accused him of throwing a rock through a window at his boss’s house and stealing a watch valued at about $1,200 along with $300 in cash. Officials did not describe in the report whether that case is connected to the Charlotte County investigation beyond timing. The two bookings placed Null in custody as Charlotte County investigators moved forward with the updated charges tied to the November bonfire gathering.
The alleged attack also drew attention to the location where it happened. Residents told local reporters the parties are a regular Friday-night scene where riders travel from across Southwest Florida, meeting in open areas off Cook Brown Road and then spreading through trails. One resident, Justin Bodine, said the gatherings can draw hundreds of people and sometimes approach 1,000, with many coming from places including Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs and Naples. He said the riding is the main draw, but the size and late hours can lead to problems.
Bodine warned that emergency help can be slow in the back trails and said people who attend should understand how far away responders may be. He said he worries that violent incidents could lead to the gatherings being shut down. “It would suck to be shut down because it’s really the last place we have to go riding,” Bodine said. He added that, in his view, other riding areas have closed and that the Cook Brown Road parties have become one of the last places where large groups still gather to ride off-road vehicles late at night.
Deputies and residents pointed to recent violence in the same party area as a sign of rising risk. Investigators said the Nov. 30 case is not the only serious incident tied to the gatherings. Bodine described hearing gunshots during another night when a man was wounded. Two weeks before the Feb. 23 update on Null’s case, authorities said a man named Brian Foor was shot in the leg while trying to break up a fight during one of the gatherings. Foor told local reporters he had recently been released from the hospital.
In that earlier shooting case, deputies said they arrested Darrin Hayward Jr. in connection with the leg wound. The arrest was made as deputies continued to monitor the area and respond to complaints about crowds, noise and traffic on dirt roads. Bodine said he recently saw law enforcement in the area giving tickets on the “north end” of the gathering spot during another Friday night of riding, a sign, he said, that the parties are drawing increasing attention from deputies.
Null remains in custody without bond while he awaits court proceedings, authorities said. The reports available this week did not list a trial date, but the case is expected to move through felony hearings in Charlotte County as prosecutors review the allegations tied to the Nov. 30 bonfire gathering and the later re-arrest.
Author note: Last updated February 26, 2026.