A 40-year-old man faces a felony battery charge after authorities say he punched a 61-year-old woman in the face without provocation on an August afternoon in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.
Police arrested Tavaris Greene a few hours after the Aug. 6 incident, which occurred as the victim walked down the street alone. Surveillance footage captured by nearby businesses shows a man in a black hoodie, identified by police as Greene, walking toward the woman from the opposite direction before swinging his arm, striking her in the face, and knocking her to the pavement. The assailant then fled the scene on foot.
Several local business owners rushed outside to assist the victim immediately following the attack. Mónica Zapata, owner of Calle Ocho Sports Bar, was among the first witnesses to reach the woman.
“She [was] bleeding profusely from literally the skin of her face, by her nose, and her nose, she’s dripping blood,” Zapata said, noting that the attacker “just leaves her there.”
Zapata and other nearby merchants gathered camera footage from their establishments and provided the files to investigators to assist in identifying the suspect.
“Apparently this gentleman is new to the area, and he’s been seen walking back and forth, up and down the street, talking to himself,” Zapata said.
An officer who had previously interacted with Greene spotted and detained him shortly after reviewing the surveillance footage. Officers transported Greene to the City of Miami Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit for questioning.
According to the arrest report, when an officer asked Greene if he needed anything, he “spontaneously” stated that he was “having a bad day because he punched someone.” Roughly an hour later, Greene told a detective that he had “smoked synthetic weed” at his home that day.
During Greene’s initial court appearance on Friday, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer detailed the victim’s injuries, stating she required medical treatment for “a fractured nose, lacerations to her left cheek, and will need sutures.”
Greene is currently held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $150,000 bond.
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