MIAMI — A Miami Lakes attorney is facing a felony charge for attacking a senior on a cruise ship to the point where passengers had to perform CPR on the victim, deputies said.
A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrest report states that Phillip Andrew Ortiz, 38, was aboard the Norwegian Encore just before 2 p.m. on Saturday when he tried “to enter a hallway that was not yet open to passengers” while the ship was docked at PortMiami.
Deputies said the 67-year-old victim told them that when he told Ortiz “not to go in,” the attorney responded with, “Who the f--- are you to tell me what I can and can’t do?” and pushed him.
Authorities said that as he tried to push Ortiz away, a woman identified in court as Ortiz’s wife pushed the victim as well.
Deputies said when the victim pushed her back, Ortiz became “enraged” and “attacked him again.”
Authorities said after Ortiz tried to get into the hallway again, the man “attempted to push the door closed.”
The report states that Ortiz then “charged at the victim” and the two scuffled again. Ortiz “tripped” the man,
They began to fight again and Ortiz “tripped” the man, who landed on his head along with Ortiz’s “full body weight,” knocking him unconscious, it states.
Deputies said Ortiz then left the man lying on the floor, “making no attempt” to render aid.
“Passengers (administered) CPR on the victim, because they did not find a (pulse),” the report states. Deputies said the man was eventually revived and was taken to University of Miami Hospital for treatment.
Deputies said witnesses and surveillance footage corroborated the victim’s account and said Ortiz declined to speak with investigators.
Ortiz, deputies concluded, “had the (opportunity) to end this confrontation, but chose to force his way back into the area and continue his aggression towards the victim,” leading to his arrest on a charge of aggravated battery on a person 65 or older.
That charge was later downgraded to battery on a person 65 or older during a probable cause hearing on Monday after Ortiz’s attorney, Stephan Lopez, successfully argued during an initial hearing on Sunday that there wasn’t a basis for the enhanced charge.
“I don’t find this to be an aggravated battery,” Judge Mindy Glazer said, noting that nothing showed that the victim had suffered “permanent injuries” from the encounter.
Lopez also hinted at a self-defense argument during Sunday’s hearing.
“The guy doesn’t work in the place,” Lopez said of the man. “He pushed Mr. Ortiz’s wife.”
Lopez later added, “The door he was trying to get into was the door the victim was trying to get into had a 6-year-old and a 14-year-old behind (it).”
During Monday’s hearing, MDSO Deputy Dennis Lopez testified that he had reviewed the video and it showed Ortiz to be the aggressor, saying Ortiz’s wife pushed the victim first.
Glazer ordered Ortiz, donning an anti-suicide vest during Monday’s hearing, to stay away from the victim.
Ortiz, licensed by the Florida Bar since 2012 and in good standing with the organization, works at The Firm Law Group, specializing in commercial and civil litigation, according to his biography.
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