Man allegedly beat victim in South Beach and used homophobic slurs – NBC 6 South Florida

A Miami man was arrested this week after police said he brutally beat another man in Miami Beach, yelled homophobic slurs and threatened to kill him.

Junior Rafael Arias, 22, was sentenced to prison on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (except for a hate crime) and resisting a police officer without the use of force, court records show.

The attack occurred Wednesday morning as the victim went swimming at South Beach. As he attempted to change into his bathing suit under an umbrella, Arias aggressively approached him and ordered him to leave, a police report said.

The victim refused, and the two got into an argument and eventually a physical altercation. Arias allegedly hit the victim on the thighs with a wooden stick, yelled homophobic slurs at him, and told him, “I'm going to kill you (expletive).”

The victim tried to defend himself with the pole of a beach umbrella, but Arias eventually hit him with the pole until the victim managed to run away, the police report said.

The bloodied victim went in search of police officers, who were able to locate Arias on the beach.

After Arias was handcuffed, he was “extremely uncooperative” with investigators and refused to answer questions, police said.

Miami Beach City Councilman Alex Fernandez appeared at Arias' bail hearing on Thursday and called for justice for the LGBTQ community.

“This is nothing but hatred and violence… I only ask for justice,” he said.

Arias, who is homeless and has a violent criminal past, was released on bail in another case and was appointed as a public defender in court.