MIAMI – Police officers arrested a 55-year-old man Wednesday who allegedly threatened to hurt 25 police officers who responded to reports of his suicide attempts at a remote house in Miami-Dade County’s Redland area.
Julio Velazquez first used carbon monoxide from a BMW’s exhaust pipe to try to kill himself in a pool house, but his ex-wife said she moved the car and called 911 on Nov. 27, according to police.
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Velazquez, 55, then used a red container to pour gasoline on himself and the floor and walls in the two-story house that he shared with his ex-wife in the area of Southwest 190th Street and 199th Avenue, according to police.
Police officers reported Velazquez wrapped a black cloth around his head, held up a lighter, and threatened to set himself, the house and police officers on fire. To avoid the risk of an explosion, Florida Power & Light workers shut off the power to the house, police said.
Velazquez refused to leave the property for days until a police officer reported seeing him coming out of the house on Wednesday morning and run back inside. His ex-wife called him and she was able to persuade him to surrender.
Corrections booked him on Wednesday afternoon at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He appeared in court on Thursday and was released on bond.
Velazquez is facing 25 counts of threatening a law enforcement officer and attempted arson. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Tanya Brinkley is presiding over the case.
Last year, Velazquez was arrested for aggravated assault but the case was dropped. Velazquez’s arraignment hearing in this case is at 9 a.m., on Jan. 5.
Editorial note: Local 10 News doesn’t report on suicide attempts, but the nature of the arrest is the exception to the rule.