MIAMI – The case of a Miami Metromover attack on an elderly man has been declared a mistrial after jurors couldn’t come to a unanimous verdict Friday despite the beating being captured on camera last year.
A retrial is likely to begin Monday with the selection of a new jury.
Robert Lee Ribbs, a 62-year-old homeless man, was arrested in the seemingly random beating of Eduardo Fernández, 74, in September 2020.
Fernández and his son were upset about the mistrial and told Local 10 News on Friday afternoon that they will continue to push for justice.
“We deserve justice,” Christian Fernández said, flanked by his dad. “My father deserves that, as a human, as a citizen of this country and this city. And we’ll do it again. If we have to do it three times more, we’re going to do it.”
Christian Fernández told Local 10 News that his father hasn’t been the same since the attack. He suffered several broken bones and internal bleeding, which required surgery and a lengthy stay in the hospital.
“This event changed our lives forever,” the son last week. “He’s another person.”
Ribbs denied the accusations in court.
The jury sent multiple notes to the judge during their deliberation, ultimately telling him they couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict.
“We have given our most sincere and honest efforts to deliberate and consider all evidence presented to us. However, we have arrived at an irreconcilable impasse,” said a note from the jury that the judge read in court.
According to the arrest report, Ribbs waited until a security guard left the train before he lunged at Fernandez and began kicking and punching him. Ribbs also reached into the victim’s pocket and stole $30 in cash, investigators said.
Ribbs was arrested the next day and charged with strong-arm robbery, aggravated battery and battery on a person 65 or older.
Local 10 News Photojournalist Bob Palumbo contributed to this report.