HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A Homestead man is facing two felony charges after authorities said he went up to a homeless woman in the city, then beat and sexually battered her in an apparent act of revenge over a stolen mountain bike.
Two people saw Christian Ariel Lopez “physically attacking” the woman early Monday morning and flagged down a police officer, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the case.
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An MDSO arrest report states that at around 3:30 a.m., the woman was in the area of Northwest Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue when she saw Lopez pull up in a Toyota Camry and begin “screaming at her.”
Deputies said she recognized Lopez after encountering him about a month ago, when she said the 31-year-old “confronted her about one of her children allegedly stealing his mountain bike.”
During Monday’s encounter, deputies said Lopez reiterated the allegation and told the woman “she was going to pay for it.”
“According to the victim, (Lopez) grabbed her by the hair, slapped her face, and forced her into his vehicle,” an MDSO investigator wrote in the arrest report. “She stated that while inside (Lopez’s) vehicle, he pinned her down, and squeezed her neck, which impeded her ability to breath(e), as she pleaded for him to stop.”
Deputies allege that Lopez then “demanded and forced her” to perform a sex act on him.
Authorities said the victim asked Lopez to let her out so she could urinate. Once outside, they said he again sexually battered her.
Police took Lopez into custody on charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment. Jail records show he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond — and on a warrant for a separate case involving an alleged threat to a law enforcement officer.