MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A SWAT situation led to the evacuation of an apartment complex in South Beach, and a police said it all started when a man waved a knife at a neighbor because he was angry that her children were making too much noise.
Geared up in SWAT equipment, Miami Beach Police officers swarmed the complex, located at 1770 Meridian Ave., to deal with the problem tenant, Thursday night.
Dario Ezequiel Oest is accused of packing a chef’s knife, terrifying a family and causing the entire property to be evacuated.
“I was pretty nervous,” said a resident.
The shaky nerves can be attributed to Oest, who police said had a spat with a neighbor, knocking on her door and telling her her kids were too loud.
According to his arrest report, the 39-year-old suspect “produced a knife from his waistband and pointed it in her direction.”
The unwanted visit became even scarier when, the report states, Oest “began to make a back-and-forth waving motion toward victim with the knife as he told her to quiet her children down because they were creating too much noise and that was considered child neglect.”
The unwelcome encounter prompted a call to police, who arrived and cleared out the complex.
“We came outside after they evacuated us, and then they just told us to stay at a safe distance,” said a resident.
Speaking in Spanish, another resident said, “It’s 12 o’clock at night. They haven’t let us return. It’s been two hours that we’ve been outside.”
Tactically clad officers could be seen ushering out families and others in their bathrobes and pajamas into this central section of Miami Beach, steps from City Hall and the Miami Beach Convention Center.
There was one man, though, who needed the most help getting out: the accused knife-wielding tenant in Apartment 111. The report states a “search warrant was approved and executed by Miami Beach SWAT officers, and the defendant was eventually taken into custody.”
Officers did a number on Oest’s unit. They smashed a front jalousie window and ripped off the door handle, making a mess in order to reach the suspect.
Oest appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer on Friday afternoon.
“Sir, you were arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” said Glazer.
Glazer ordered Oest to stay away from the family he’s alleged to have horrified.
“So you may have to find somewhere else to live,” said the judge.
According to jail records, Oest remains behind bars at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade as of Friday night. The records also indicate he is being held on an immigration hold as well.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.