MIAMI – A man who was initially denied a firearm license after he was cleared of kidnapping and rape charges earlier this year was granted a concealed weapons permit last week, his attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said.
Charges against Miguel Macias were dropped in April and his record was sealed after DNA results, as well as an alibi, cleared him in the investigation.
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Miguel Bustos, 27, is now facing charges of kidnapping and sexual battery in the rape of an 18-year-old woman.
Eiglarsh said Macias was arrested in March "solely because he looked like someone she (the victim) found on Facebook."
Miami-Dade County Judge Jason Bloch apologized to Macias in court and signed an order expunging his record.
"We are very sorry that the man was in custody for the period of time that he was, but as soon as we found out, we did what we had to do and we released him," Assistant State Attorney Kathleen Hoague said. "This happens all the time, OK? This is not the first time this happened, and it won't be the last."
According to Eiglarsh, Macias recently applied to obtain a firearm license, but received a letter from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services denying the application.
The letter said he was denied because "you were arrested for or formally charged with 1. sexual battery and 2. kidnapping and an injunction was entered retraining you from committing acts of domestic violence or acts of repeat violence."
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services press secretary Aaron Keller refused to comment on the incident. "Any personal identifying information pertaining to a concealed weapon or firearm license or application is confidential and exempt from public record," he said.
Eiglarsh's legal assistant and office manager, Yani Antelo, said "while the initial denial of Mr. Macias' application to secure a firearms license was a gross violation of his rights, the department did conduct further investigation and ultimately made the right decision by approving his application."
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