A man currently behind bars for a brutal beating of a man in a pickup truck is set to be released on house arrest after a judge’s ruling.
Ben Arthur Smith has a laundry list of past criminal offenses, including his recent offense when he beat a man up so badly in the parking lot of Motel 6 in Cutler Bay that the victim’s face was permanently disfigured.
Video, obtained exclusively by 7News, shows the June 17 fight where, according to police, an enraged Smith went after a man because he found the man with his ex-girlfriend.
Blow after blow, Smith’s pummeling and pounding sent the victim’s body bouncing off the car horn. By the end of the fight, the victim’s teeth were knocked out with several fractures and needed days in the hospital.
Video also shows Smith throwing a rock through the window of the victim’s truck.
Smith was arrested days later for the bloody beating.
In court, prosecutors asked the judge that Smith be kept in jail with no bond until his trial because they argued that Smith poses a “clear threat to the community” due to his rap sheet that goes back at least three years.
Judge Ariel Rodriguez agreed to keep Smith in jail with no bond but granted him one exception. Rodriguez said Smith should get to be with his family for the holidays.
According to Rodriguez, “On Oct. 30, 2024, the defendant shall be placed on house arrest [to] Jan. 3, 2025.”
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office told 7News the judge’s ruling is unusual.
“It is quite unusual for a defendant to be held in pretrial detention and to be granted a release at the same time, in the same judicial order.”
SAO
But it is not the first time Rodriguez has made an unusual ruling. Earlier this month, he made news for agreeing to release another defendant.
Christopher Pitre, a repeat offender across Miami Beach, was able to get out of his house arrest ankle monitor and become an escaped inmate after Rodriguez granted the homeless defendant to be on house arrest.
“Now we gotta use police resources and try to find this person and pray to God that no one else gets hurt,” said Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner.
The ruling came despite Pitre’s city-wide crime spree last spring, including allegedly pointing a gun at Miami Beach Commissioner Joe Magazine.
Luckily, Pitre was caught weeks ago, but not before committing theft while on the run, according to Miami Beach Police.
Rodriguez chose not to comment on Pitre’s case. It’s unclear if he will comment on Smith’s.
Smith faces aggravated battery, burglary with a battery and throwing or shooting a deadly missile.
He remains locked up in Miami-Dade County Jail– at least until October when his house arrest is implemented.
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Source: wsvn
