MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — A tourist visiting from Chicago says he was brutally attacked and robbed while walking on a Miami Beach sidewalk.
Security footage from outside the Sherbrooke Hotel shows a man in a pink hoodie and pants viciously assaulting the victim on Ninth Street, just east of Collins Avenue.
The attacker’s girlfriend can be heard begging him to stop as he repeatedly punches and kicks the helpless man lying on the ground.
“Come on, babe,” she pleaded.
Her pleas went unanswered as the assault turned into a robbery. According to the arrest report, “the defendant forcefully took a black crossbody bag ($50.00) and the victim’s iPhone.”
The injured tourist shouted angrily at police officers when they arrived.
“He beat me for no [expletive] reason,” the victim said. “No [expletive] reason.”
Hotel owner Mitch Novick, who shared the surveillance video, called the attack “shocking to the conscience.”
“Smashes him in the face, stomps on his head,” Novick said. “One of the cops said it’s hard to watch.”
Police said the victim’s jaw and mouth swelled quickly during questioning, making it painful for him to speak. He was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center with a serious jaw injury.
Officers identified the suspect as 25-year-old Cornelius Wedner, who was arrested minutes later down the street.
“OK, so there’s probable cause for aggravated battery, strong-armed robbery, and resisting an officer,” Judge Mindy S. Glazer said during Wedner’s bond hearing.
Wedner, who was visiting from Georgia, remains in Miami-Dade jail.
“You are ordered to stay away from the alleged victim,” Judge Glazer told him.
Detectives are reviewing Novick’s footage as part of their ongoing investigation.
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