MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Miami woman is facing a first-degree felony charge after police said she assaulted a west Miami-Dade pet store worker over a purchase of crickets.
According to Miami-Dade police, the incident happened in May at the Petsmart at 8241 W. Flagler St. in the unincorporated Fontainebleau area.
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The suspect, Jenevi Lia Hidalgo, 24, of Flagami, turned herself in to police on Monday.
An arrest report states that Hidalgo went to the store just before 7 p.m. on May 20 and an employee retrieved a bag of crickets for her after Hidalgo asked to purchase some.
The report states that Hidalgo “became upset with the number of crickets she was given” and became angry with other employees as she went to the register to pay.
Police said Hidalgo began to argue with the victim, asking, “Do you want to take this outside?”
“To rectify the dispute, the victim took (Hidalgo)’s bag of crickets and walked into the store’s pump room to recount the crickets,” police wrote in the report.
Said room is only accessible to employees and has a sign stating so, police said.
“While the victim was in the pump room and her back turned to the door, (Hidalgo) entered the pump room and willfully and intentionally pushed the victim in the back,” police said.
The report states that the worker pushed back and told Hidalgo, “You can’t be here,” but things continued to escalate.
Police said outside the pump room, Hidalgo “intentionally punched the victim multiple times in the head.”
“(Hidalgo) grabbed the victim’s hair and threw her to the ground. Another Petsmart employee then intervened and stopped (her) from continuing to punch the victim while on the ground,” the report states. “At that time, (Hidalgo) fled the scene.”
The worker “sustained scratches to her face and neck and a minor contusion to her forehead,” police said.
Hidalgo, appearing in Miami-Dade court Tuesday after turning herself in the day prior on a charge of burglary with assault or battery, was given a $2,000 bond, according to jail records.
She remained held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Tuesday afternoon.