Inset: Tavaris Greene (Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation). Background: Surveillance video taken immediately following the alleged assault on a woman in Miami, Fla. (WSVN).
A Florida man allegedly punched a woman in the face while she was walking down the street and apparently had no reason for the attack.
Tavaris Greene, 40, was charged with felony battery in connection with an alleged attack on a 61-year-old woman. According to an arrest report reviewed by Law&Crime, the victim was walking down the street in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida, on the afternoon of Aug. 6 when Greene allegedly sucker-punched her in the face before running away. The alleged attack was captured on surveillance cameras around the neighborhood, and several witnesses came out of nearby businesses to render aid to the woman.
In surveillance video obtained by Miami-based Fox/ABC affiliate WSVN, the unnamed victim is seen walking down the street by herself as a man in a black hoodie, later identified as Greene, is walking toward her from the other direction. As the two pass each other, Greene allegedly swings at the woman, hitting her in the face and sending her to the ground.
WSVN spoke to Mónica Zapata, the owner of Calle Ocho Sports Bar, who was one of the witnesses who ran outside to help the victim. She told WSVN, "She [was] bleeding profusely from literally the skin of her face, by her nose, and her nose, she's dripping blood." Greene, Zapata said, "just leaves her there."
Zapata told WSVN that she and other business owners who had surveillance cameras operating in the area teamed up to work with detectives to help find Greene. She said, "[A]pparently this gentleman is new to the area, and he's been seen walking back and forth, up and down the street, talking to himself."
During his first court appearance on Friday, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer said the victim had to be treated for "a fractured nose, lacerations to her left cheek, and will need sutures."
According to the arrest report, police tracked Greene down a couple of hours after the allegedly unprovoked attack. One of the officers recognized Greene and had arrested him before. Greene was transported to the Violent Crimes Unit at the City of Miami Police Department and questioned. When Greene was asked if he was okay or needed anything, he "spontaneously" replied that he was "having a bad day because he punched someone," police said.
About an hour later, Greene allegedly told a detective the same story, adding that he "smoked synthetic weed" that day at his home. It's unclear whether that was before or after the alleged incident.
Greene is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $150,000 bond. He was due to appear in court again on Monday.
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