Judge revokes bail for accused homophobic attacker in South Beach

MIAMI – Junior Rafael Arias remains in jail after his arrest in connection with what police described as a homophobic attack in South Beach.

Arias' case was heard again Friday before a Miami-Dade judge, who revoked his bail at the request of prosecutors because he deemed him a danger to the LGBTQ community. The 22-year-old, who is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon – an aggravated hate crime – and resisting arrest, did not appear in court in person.

A judge had originally set his bail at $50,000 on Thursday.

According to Miami Beach police, the altercation occurred shortly before 6 a.m. Wednesday on the beach near Lummus Park.

According to police, the victim, a South Beach resident, was trying to change for his morning swim in a beach tent when Arias, a homeless man, “aggressively approached him and ordered him to leave.”

A police report states that an argument broke out between the victim and Arias after the victim told him he was not leaving.

“The victim stated that in self-defense, he used a white pole attached to the umbrella tents to push the defendant away,” police wrote in the report. “However, the victim stated that (Arias) overpowered him, took the pole and struck him with it. The victim stated that he was able to escape and flee the beach.”

According to authorities, the victim suffered cuts and bruises in the attack.

Police said the victim was able to identify Arias as a suspect. Authorities said Arias was “extremely uncooperative” and refused to give his name, but officers were able to identify him based on previous encounters.

Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez was one of the officials who called for Arias to remain in custody.

“We have to protect the residents of Miami Beach,” he said. “We have to protect the LGBT community from people with violent backgrounds like these.”

Arias is said to have a history of violent criminality and several cases are still pending.

“No one should be targeted because of who they are,” Fernandez said.

Edward Summers, executive director of LGBTQ group Pridelines, shared these concerns.

“We are a county and a city where people are very supportive of our community, but yet we still have to fight these battles in the streets,” Summers said. “It's very hurtful to our community and it's also scary for some members of our community who just want to have fun.”

Miami Beach police said in a statement that they are working to combat hate incidents.

“The Miami Beach Police Department remains committed to taking hate crimes seriously. We will continue our close partnership with the District Attorney's Office to ensure these cases are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

We recognize that the LGBTQIA+ community is extremely vulnerable to gratuitous acts of violence. To proactively address this, we launched the Miami Beach Police Department's Hate Crime Prevention and Resource Awareness campaign on September 5 with an inaugural class from subject matter experts and community stakeholders.

This initiative represents a comprehensive strategy to combat hate crimes, with a particular focus on protecting our LGBTQIA+ community. Our ultimate goal is to increase public safety and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives, works, or visits the City of Miami Beach.

We also have two dedicated LGBTQIA+ liaisons and the Safe Place program.

We urge anyone who witnesses or experiences hate-based incidents to report them as we work together to create a safer and more inclusive community for all.”

Officer Christopher Bess, Miami Beach Police Department

Arias remained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Friday morning.