MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - After years of creating problems for the city and its residents, police reached an unusual agreement with a career criminal to buy him a one-way ticket out of town.
Instead of waiting for another crime to occur that’ll lead to his arrest, beach police are seen on body camera footage, provided exclusively to 7News, making a deal with one of their most persistent violent offenders, Perry Smith, to get him out of Miami Beach.
“Would you be interested in going to Georgia?” an officer asks Smith.
“Yes,” said Smith.
“And staying with your mom?” asked the officer. “That’s something we can help you with. We’ll pay for your ticket to go back to Georgia.”
Police say Smith is no stranger to the criminal justice system in Miami-Dade. His most recent arrest, last summer, involved a random assault on a German journalist covering the FIFA Club World Cup. The victim told responding officers that Smith beat him twice.
“He beat me two times,” said Pit Gottschalk.
Yet, soon enough, Smith was back on the streets.
Court records and past cases show a pattern of rinse-and-repeat. For years, 7News has captured his repeated arrests and violent behavior toward victims, officers, and even a judge.
“You’re going to die a thousand deaths,” Smith tells a judge in bond court.
Victims say he yelled profanities before going on the attack.
“He started saying ‘You, [expletive], you [expletive!]’ and threw me on the floor!” said victim Jo Manning. “Give me all your money now, or I’m going to hurt you.”
Local officials say he’s a menace to society.
“One of the most violent individuals in our community,” said Miami Beach Police spokesperson Christopher Bess.
“Repeat offender. A rap sheet as long as my arm,” said a Miami Beach city commissioner.
But after his most recent release from Miami-Dade County Jail, Miami Beach Police say they located him about two blocks from the police department and decided to try a different strategy.
“We offered him resources,” said Bess.
Police say they connected Smith to a homeless resource program that allows individuals to be relocated when a family member agrees to take them in.
“They’re going to take care of you, OK?” an officer tells Smith during their conversation.
Smith was offered a one-way bus ticket to Georgia to live with his mother. Officers say she loved the idea.
“She welcomed him with open arms,” said Bess.
The police department shared a photo of Smith boarding the bus with 7News this past week.
When asked what would happen if Smith returned to Miami Beach to resume committing crimes, Bess said he would face consequences.
“He will be arrested,” he said.
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