WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - 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.
According to authorities, Ben Arthur Smith allegedly beat a man up in the parking lot of Motel 6 in Cutler Bay and left the victim’s face 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.
Police tell 7News that the 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”.
Smith, according to court records, has been arrested twice since 2019, including his arrest in June. However, his previous arrest case was dropped.
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 that the judge’s ruling was 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
Earlier this month, Rodriguez made news for agreeing to release another defendant.
Christopher Pitre, who is accused of committing multiple crimes 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 is prohibited by judicial ethics rules to comment on a pending case.
Smith faces multiple charges including 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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