MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Surveillance video captures the moments when a man, accused of beating a couple from New Hampshire and on vacation in Miami Beach, began his attack.
Police said Michael Albert, 36, was arrested in Miami-Dade County Wednesday for the unprovoked beatings.
According to the arrest report, Albert was sitting on a bus bench at Collins Avenue and 9th Street around 7 p.m. Friday outside of the Sherbooke Hotel. The two tourists, a man and woman, were walking south on the sidewalk. That’s when the suspect, later identified as Albert, got up and started punching the 28-year-old man, according to police, which also can be seen on video.
Police officers said that they observed on video Albert striking the man with his closed fists 9 or 10 times. When the woman tried to stop Albert, she was also punched in the face, according to police.
The video shows the suspect crossing the street after the beating and walking northbound on the east sidewalk of Collins Avenue.
The victims said Albert did not rob them, but just beat them in an unprovoked attack.
“I feel especially bad for the visitors who are from the northeast and they have indicated that they’ll never step foot on Miami Beach again,” Mitch Novick, owner of the Sherbrooke Hotel said. It was Novick’s cameras that captured the incident.
The man suffered multiple bruises and a cut on his lip, which required stitches. The woman’s left eye was swollen from the blow.
Albert faces charges for criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and assault.