Dad surrenders after slamming 5-year-old, causing a ‘brain injury,' deputies say
Miami-Dade deputies spent almost four hours talking a man out of his barricaded apartment after he allegedly slammed his son against a wall, injuring the 5-year-old, and battering two other children Saturday afternoon, authorities say.
Around 2 p.m., Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office deputies rushed to International Park apartments, 2055 SW 122nd Ave., after being alerted to a father battering children. Authorities learned Brice Martinez, 33, assaulted his son and hurt his 8- and 2-year-old in the first-floor apartment near Tamiami Park.
While caring for his kids, Martinez got upset with his 5-year-old and slammed his head into the wall three times, according to his arrest report.
He continued his attack by throwing his two-year-old son on the concrete, causing pain to his back.
When his 8-year-old son tried to intervene and help his siblings, Martinez punched him in the face, which caused a 'contusion,' deputies said.
The 5-year-old was taken to HCA Kendall Hospital by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, where he had to get five staples to the head. Doctors also said he had a 'frontal hematoma' and was admitted to the hospital with a 'traumatic brain injury.'
The 2- and 8-year-old were treated at the apartment complex by fire crews and then released to their mother, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Spokesperson Samantha Choon said.
Martinez barricaded himself inside the apartment and spent hours refusing to listen to the deputies' commands to come out. MDSO's Special Response Team surrounded the building, smashed glass windows and tossed in gas canisters.
Deputies initially said he was in the apartment alone, and did not know if he had weapons.
'Time was on our side, and we were going to try to talk to him,' Choon said. '...to convince him to come out of the property to surrender himself. Sometimes that doesn't happen, and they did have to break a couple of windows.'
By early afternoon, a negotiator's voice crackled over a megaphone. A chaotic moment posted to the OnlyinDade social media platform captured heavily armed law enforcement officers surrounding the area.
'Come out with your hands up,' a negotiator called out in English and Spanish. 'Let us help you,'
Michel Sanchez, owner of a painting company, said he heard the pops of gas canisters and shattered glass. Police came in large numbers with high-powered rifles. Then he witnessed the father surrender.
It was 5:30 p.m. Martinez was arrested by deputies. Choon said he would be charged accordingly, but precisely what he will face is unclear.
Authorities also did not know who called 911, but praised them for stepping in and raising attention to what could have been a more dangerous situation.
'Whoever called [911], thank you to them,' Choon said. 'Anyone who suspects or believes a child may be being abused, please call us. Say something and report it.'
A month before Martinez's arrest Saturday, he'd been charged with violently assaulting his father, court records show.
On May 15, Hialeah police officers were called to an apartment complex and discovered a man with blood all over his face, an arrest report read. The victim told authorities his son, Martinez, had beaten him because he wouldn't give him his car keys.
The injured man, who was not identified, had swelling in his left eye and jaw, with bruising on his forehead. Martinez was arrested and charged with battery the next day.
His court case on the May battery is still open, and he bonded out of jail two weeks ago, records show.
Martinez's brush with the law doesn't end there, as he's had a litany of criminal charges filed against him in Miami-Dade and Broward counties over the last decade, court records show.
In Broward, Martinez was charged with driving under the influence after he sped a car into a security gate at the FBI's headquarters in Miramar in November 2023. He had taken cocaine and other drugs at the time of the crash.
Apart from the beating and crash, Martinez has also faced charges of battery, robbery, criminal mischief and assault of a police officer, firefighter or paramedic.
Some of these cases were thrown out, but he was given a seven-year probation sentence for a robbery in 2016.
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