Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Man accused of threatening teens in car formally charged
The Broward State Attorney’s office has formally charged a Pembroke Pines man accused of armed assault against two teenage neighbors who were riding in a noisy car.
Mario Perez, 49, a security guard and former Hialeah police officer, was charged Monday with two counts of armed burglary of a car, one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, court records show.
Prosecutors declined to charge Perez with touch or strike battery, an offense he was suspected of committing when Pembroke Pines police arrested him on April 17.
That night in the Pembroke Shores community, police say he chased teenage neighbors, driver Tyler Muraida, 19, and a 15-year-old friend who were riding in a convertible with the top down. The car had a loud engine or lacked a muffler.
Perez is alleged to have cursed at Muraida, punched him in the face and pointed a gun at the back of the younger boy’s head, striking him there with the weapon. Perez and the teens live in the development that is south of Pines Boulevard and west of Interstate 75.
Perez has been held in a Broward County jail since his arrest. On Thursday, his attorney John Hager tried to get him released on bond during a hearing before Judge Michael Usan, who denied the request.
Hager declined to comment Wednesday, when records did not yet show a court date for Perez to hear a formal reading of the charges against him.
Hager said last week about his client, “He is not the hothead type of person portrayed in the media and portrayed by the victims.”
Pembroke Pines police said a Miami Police officer was present during the alleged assaults. Sgt. James Ross Faris, 51, was riding in Perez’s car and told investigators he could not see what happened between Perez and the teens in the convertible, according to an arrest report.
Miami Police said last week that the department was looking into Faris’ actions during the altercation and that the officer was working his regular shifts.