Man with ‘I heart’ tattoo uses large screwdriver as weapon in Miami, police say

MIAMI – A man told police officers that he was sleeping in the streets of Miami when a man who had an “I [heart]” tattoo on his neck pressed a large screwdriver into his chest and threatened to stab him, police said.

The man reported that he managed to run away, but the attacker caught up to him when he fell down just south of Brownsville, pushed the screwdriver against his back — and threatened him again.

“Give me the money if you don’t want me to kill you,” the attacker said in Spanish, according to the victim.

After handing the attacker about $30, the man survived to help police officers to identify Sergui Sanchez as a suspect on Monday night, according to a police arrest report.

Miami police officers arrested Sanchez, 33, in the area of Northwest 39 Street and 32 Avenue, and Miami-Dade corrections officers held him without bond shortly before 4 a.m., on Tuesday, at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, records show.

Sanchez had a criminal record but he was not a convicted felon. Miami-Dade police officers arrested him for burglaries and theft on Aug. 25, 2021, and Miami police officers arrested him for theft and possession of drug paraphernalia on July 7, court records show.

The court sanctioned him in both the 2021 and 2022 cases but did not impose an adjudication of guilt. On Tuesday, Sanchez, who told police officers that he is a migrant from Cuba, was facing a charge of armed robbery with a deadly weapon, records show.

Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case or other cases involving the suspect to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.