MARATHON, Fla. – Robert Allen Biser smirked in his Monroe County mugshot after being arrested on a felony charge, but, according to the sheriff’s office, another man told deputies that the 43-year-old got violent over something he didn’t think was a laughing matter at all.
Deputies said they arrested Biser, along with 33-year-old Desiree Natasha Downer, after the former chased down the victim with a knife and Downer joined in on Saturday in Marathon.
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The victim told police that it all happened just before 8:30 p.m. after the victim “giggled” while overhearing an argument between Biser and Downer, an arrest report states.
The report states that Biser, “upset” over the victim’s giggling, “began calling him racial slurs,” then threatened to “stick him like a pig.”
Deputies said Downer then slapped the man and, as he ran away, the pair began chasing him down 20th Street — as Biser held a “silver object” in his hand. The victim hid and called 911.
The report states that Biser and Downer provided inconsistent accounts of the incident.
Deputies said Biser claimed the victim had been bothering him and came up to him with the knife and “randomly attacked him.” He claimed, they said, that the victim dropped the knife after Downer stood up, leading Biser to pick it up and chase after him.
A witness later told deputies that Biser had asked him to borrow a knife about 45 minutes before the incident, the report states.
Additionally, Biser claimed the victim cut him, but his account was inconsistent with his injuries, deputies said.
Deputies took Biser and Downer into custody, they said. Downer resisted arrest and had a crack pipe on her, the report states.
She’s facing misdemeanor charges of battery, resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Meanwhile, Biser is facing a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
As of Monday morning, he remained jailed on a $5,000 bond, while Downer was in custody on a $6,500 bond.
Court records show Biser has a series of arrests in the Keys dating back to 2020, but in all but one instance — a trespassing case — prosecutors either declined to file charges or dropped their cases.
Downer also has a history of arrests and convictions in the Keys, including a no-contest plea for felony cocaine possession and guilty pleas for criminal mischief and marijuana possession.