MIAMI - A 45-year-old man who police say plowed into temporary construction fencing in Miami's Riverside neighborhood then sprinted to a marked patrol car, yanked open the front passenger door and climbed in, yelling that people were chasing him and trying to kill him.
Officers pulled the man out of the cruiser and detained him, describing him in reports as highly combative and paranoid. Medical crews evaluated him at the scene, and officers chose not to administer roadside sobriety exercises because of his behavior.
As reported by Local 10, police identified the driver as 45-year-old Juan Barcelo. Investigators said he had been speeding in a black two-door Infiniti G35 before hitting a curb, striking a fire hydrant and crashing near Southwest 12th Avenue and Seventh Street.
According to the arrest report, an officer wrote, "I looked in the direction he was pointing ... I did not observe anyone chasing." The report states that Barcelo opened the patrol car's front passenger door and screamed at officers to leave the area for his safety.
Inside the Infiniti, officers reported finding a burnt crack pipe, a rock of crack cocaine and an empty wine bottle. Barcelo told Miami Fire Rescue personnel it was his first time using crack in four years, according to the report.
Drug effects and police response
Cocaine, and crack in particular, is strongly linked to short-term paranoia and psychotic symptoms that can leave users disoriented, agitated or combative, according to medical literature. A review published by the National Library of Medicine notes that cocaine-induced paranoia and psychosis can occur during and after use and can sometimes linger beyond the immediate intoxication period.
Miami-Dade Corrections lists Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as the county's pretrial booking facility, where deputies typically coordinate with EMS when detainees need medical evaluation.
Charges and court
Barcelo was booked at Turner Guilford Knight early Monday and faces a felony cocaine possession charge along with three misdemeanors, according to court records. He appeared in bond court Monday night, where a judge set his bond at $3,600, and Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Lody Jean was set to preside over the new felony case, as reported by Local 10.
Police records indicate Barcelo has a prior 2016 cocaine arrest and had been on probation through 2018.
What the law says
Under Florida law, simple possession of cocaine is generally prosecuted as a third-degree felony and can carry penalties that include up to five years in prison and fines, per Florida Statute 893.13. If investigators determine that larger quantities are involved or there is intent to sell, charges can be upgraded under the state's trafficking statutes.
