MIAMI (WSVN) – A man was taken into custody following an overnight large-scale manhunt at an apartment complex in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood.
Police say they were trying to execute an arrest warrant on Peter Peraza following an incident on April 1.
An altercation between Peraza and another man turned physical after the latter’s ex-girlfriend, Lillian Goodman, showed up unannounced at his apartment, demanding he give her money for rent, according to police. When he refused, Peraza reportedly kicked the other man while threatening his life. Peraza then stole the victim’s phone, laptop, Gucci watch, and camera.
The victim then attempted to escape, but he fell and broke his foot. He then approached the front desk and asked them to notify authorities. According to social media, Peraza is a fighter associated with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
“So, we knew he was a fighter, or somebody that was determined,” said Lauren Bergman, a witness. “We kept thinking, ‘Well, what is so bad on the other end of the law that he’s trying to evade that?’”
“They told me I couldn’t come outside, so I went back to my apartment to lock my door and lock my balcony, but my balcony didn’t lock, and they were telling us that someone was scaling the building,” said Lauren.
As the rumors began to permeate, Lauren came down to the lobby to stay safe. Some of those rumors alleged the suspect had killed his wife.
“So we originally heard that he had killed his wife,” she said. “I don’t know where that rumor started, but it was scaring a lot of people to know that there could possibly be someone that dangerous in the building.”
SWAT teams swarmed the Bay Parc Apartments, located in the 1700 block of North Bayshore Drive, Tuesday night after obtaining enough evidence to execute an arrest warrant.
Video footage shows heavily armed officers entering the building and searching floor by floor for Peraza, who was seen scaling balconies in an attempt to evade arrest.
Many residents received emergency alerts advising them to stay indoors and secure their doors and balconies. However, those attempting to enter their homes—some delayed after walking their pets—were left stranded outside during the hours-long standoff.
“All the roads were just shut down. There were police everywhere,” said Lauren. “Nobody really thinks that when you live in a high-rise, you have to lock your balcony door.”
“Just thinking, you know, the worst,” said another resident. “I think maybe the biggest reason why I moved here is because we all want to feel safe, we all want to feel secure, and we all want to live somewhere where we feel something like this couldn’t happen. I live by myself, so as someone who is a woman who lives by herself, that is really scary.”
“A lot of movement. There are a lot of police officers around. A lot of cops, a lot of vehicles. Definitely there was something big going on. It happens quite often around here in this neighborhood, honestly, sadly, I guess,” said a man. “They wouldn’t tell us anything. I couldn’t even walk my dog. It’s crazy.”
Peraza went down seven floors from the 19th floor to the 12th until he finally entered an apartment and hid there. Officers managed to find him not long after and were seen in a video recorded by Bergman escorting him out of the apartment in handcuffs.
“I was next to our property manager when our property manager received the call,” said Lauren. “He picked up the phone, and the call said, ‘He’s in my apartment, he’s in my apartment. Help.’ And our property manager ran as fast as he could outside so he could speak to police.”
He has since been charged with burglary, false imprisonment, criminal mischief, assault, and resisting officer arrest, among others. Goodman also faces a slew of charges.
Officials have since left the area following the investigation.
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