MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A Miami man was arrested over the weekend at Miami International Airport, months after he attacked another man, leaving the victim with a permanent brain injury, authorities said.
According to an arrest report filed by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the attack occurred on June 12 in the area of Southwest 153rd Avenue and 11th Street.
Deputies said Jose Junior Batista, 23, and the victim got into a fist fight that afternoon due to a “shared romantic partnership” with a woman who witnessed the incident.
Authorities said part of the fight was captured on cellphone video.
According to the arrest report, after the initial fight, Batista got on top of the victim and began to repeatedly slam the victim’s head onto the pavement.
The victim was hospitalized and needed stitches above his right and left eyes. He also suffered a traumatic brain injury, which “he will suffer from permanently,” the report stated.
According to the report, Batista was captured on video slamming the victim’s head onto the pavement, admitted to his involvement in the fight in an Instagram message with the victim, and “even provided a screenshot of his fist striking the victim’s face.”
The victim told deputies that his vehicle was later vandalized on July 22 and he believes Batista was behind that crime, as well, as Batista was seen inside his gated community during the time his car was vandalized.
Batista was taken into custody Saturday at Miami International Airport. He invoked his right to remain silent, deputies said.
Batista faces a felony battery charge, but is not facing vandalism charges at this time.
As of Monday morning, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Online jail records listed his bond as “to be set.”
Jail records show Batista faces various other charges in other cases, including placing an obscene/harassing phone call and violating an injunction protection against stalking.
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