MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A 36-year-old man accused of brutally beating another man Saturday night in Miami-Dade County appeared in court Monday.
Dexter McQueen was very talkative when he appeared in bond court. The judge read out the details of the case from the arrest report, which stated McQueen stomped on the victim and used a shopping cart to bash him in the head.
“You’ve got two serious charges, sir,” Miami-Dade County Judge Mindy Glazer told McQueen. “You’ve got one case, you’re charged with attempted second-degree murder, and then the other case you’re charged with attempted aggravated battery.”
“Oh yeah, yeah,” McQueen responded, appearing to laugh.
Police said the violent encounter started as an argument outside a CVS near the intersection of Southwest Eighth Street and 122nd Avenue.
“It said I did what to my feet? What did it say I did to my feet?” McQueen asked the judge as she read him the arrest report.
“That you stomped on the victim’s head,” the judge responded.
Witnesses said they were shocked to see what was happening.
“All of a sudden, I see a shopping cart — a blue shopping cart get picked up in the air and slammed down on the floor,” one witness said.
Local 10 spoke with a firefighter who was in his personal car in the area when the attack happened. He said he pulled over, got out and tried to prevent the crime from going any further.
“I have a concealed weapons permit. I reach into my car and grab my pistol and I held him at gunpoint,” he said.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested McQueen a short time later.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel transported the victim to Kendall Regional Medical Center. Authorities say he is a homeless man who is now in critical condition.
“It is likely he is not going to survive,” the prosecutor said.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Glazer responded before ordering the suspect to stay away from the victim.
McQueen is being held in lieu of a $100,000 bond while the victim is fighting for his life in the hospital.