MIAMI (WSVN) - A former Miami-Dade mayor faced a judge, Monday morning, to find out the misdemeanor battery charge against him was dropped.
The case against former Miami-Dade mayor and police director Carlos Alvarez was closed after his ex-girlfriend and accuser, Miami-Dade Police Lt. Evelyn Fernandez, didn’t testify against him in court Monday. Prosecutors were forced to drop the charge against Alvarez without her testimony.
Fernandez’s attorney told the state, Monday, that his client may have been at an urgent care facility Monday morning when she was supposed to testify. She is battling cancer.
After walking out of a Miami-Dade courthouse, Carlos Alvarez said the entire ordeal has been difficult for him. “It’s really not a day about being happy,” he said. “It’s been extremely hard for me, I’m sure for Evelyn, for her family and my family.”
Miami-Dade Police Lt. Evelyn Fernandez accused Alvarez of injuries, she said, she sustained during an argument with Alvarez back in April. According to the arrest form, Alvarez allegedly spat at her while he yelled profanities.
Fernandez also told 7News in May Alvarez grabbed her by both arms and pinned her against a wall in a Coral Gables parking garage. Police confirmed her physical injuries were consistent with a sworn statement from the victim’s daughter.
Alvarez denied the allegations.
“I’ve been a police officer for over 23 years, and I’ve been a lieutenant for 14 years,” Fernandez told 7News in May. “I have never once in my life have had someone spit in my face.”
Alvarez and Fernandez had developed a pattern of domestic violence since 2013, the form said. The couple was together for 14 years.
At the court hearing, Monday morning, prosecutors dropped the charge due to Fernandez’s absence in court.
Alvarez’s attorneys said the prosecution could not prove the allegations. “After three tries, they couldn’t produce the victim,” said Alvarez’s attorney Douglas Hartman, “so they finally nolle pros the case, which means they dropped the charges, which they should’ve done from the beginning.”
“There’s two sides to every story. My side had never been told … It’s been a very, very torturous five months,” Alvarez said. “Hopefully, we can both move on with our lives and be successful.”
However, the legal battle for the former couple is not over. In July, Fernandez bonded out of jail after being arrested for, police said, ransacking Alvarez’s apartment.
Fernandez’s case is currently pending while the former mayor’s case is in the past. “You know what? It’s over. I’m relieved,” said Alvarez. “I wouldn’t say happy, because it’s been a very, very torturous five months.”
Alvarez did not comment on whether he will testify at Fernandez’s hearing.
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