Miami Man Arrested After Unprovoked Attack Leaves Woman With Facial Fractures in Little Havana

Tavaris Dewand Greene, 40, was arrested on a felony battery charge following an unprovoked assault that occurred Thursday around noon in the Little Havana neighborhood. According to Miami police, the incident took place near Southwest Eighth Street and 11th Avenue, where the victim sustained serious injuries requiring medical intervention.

The woman told detectives she was walking eastbound on Southwest Eighth Street when Greene, traveling in the opposite direction, suddenly approached and struck her in the face without apparent cause. The force of the punch knocked her to the ground as the suspect fled westbound, with nearby witnesses summoning emergency services and providing aid until paramedics arrived.

Medical personnel transported the victim to HCA Florida Mercy Hospital, where doctors documented a fractured nose and a laceration to her left cheek that necessitated stitches. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage from adjacent businesses, which corroborated witness accounts and showed a man wearing a black hoodie and camouflage pants carrying out the assault.

Officers detained a man matching the suspect’s description near Southwest 17th Avenue and Eighth Street. A Little Havana-based officer recognized Greene from the surveillance imagery and prior incidents, leading to his identification and arrest, according to police records.

During questioning at the Violent Crimes Unit, Greene spontaneously remarked that he was “having a bad day because he punched someone,” the arrest report states. He subsequently told detectives he had committed the assault earlier that day, returned home for sleep, smoked marijuana, and was apprehended by police afterward. As of Friday morning, Greene remained incarcerated at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center pending bond determination.