What started as a late-night escort pickup in West Little River ended with a gun, a frantic escape and a suspect now sitting in a Miami-Dade jail with no bond.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies arrested 23-year-old Joel Xavier McNeil on Thursday, accusing him of pretending to be a police officer and robbing an escort at gunpoint during a late-February meetup. According to arrest reports, the woman managed to get away and later used her cellphone to record part of the encounter after McNeil allegedly pulled a handgun and chambered a round. A judge has ordered McNeil held without bond, and online jail records list him at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
How Deputies Say the Pickup Went Sideways
According to Local 10, the woman told investigators she had arranged a "quick visit out call" and picked McNeil up near his home on Feb. 24. Deputies say he then had her pull over near Northwest 18th Avenue and 93rd Terrace.
Once stopped, McNeil allegedly pulled a pistol from his waistband, racked the slide to chamber a round and told her he was a police officer. Investigators say he demanded money while holding her at gunpoint.
The report states she jumped out of the car, flagged down another vehicle and began filming. Her video allegedly captured McNeil returning to the driver’s side of her car and driving off.
What Florida Law Says About Fake Cops and Guns
False personation of an officer is prohibited under Section 843.08 of the Florida Statutes, and the penalties go up if the impersonation happens during another felony.
Florida’s false imprisonment statute appears in Section 787.02. Robbery offenses are laid out in Chapter 812, which increases the level of the crime when a firearm or deadly weapon is involved. Those upgrades can significantly boost potential prison time if prosecutors prove both the weapon and impersonation elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
Arrest, Court Hearing and Booking
Deputies say McNeil’s father called the sheriff’s office about a dispute as McNeil was leaving a home in the 1800 block of Northwest 93rd Street. A records check turned up an unrelated domestic violence warrant along with a probable cause message tied to the escort robbery, as reported by Local 10.
Authorities say McNeil pulled his hands away and rolled on the ground in a non-violent effort to avoid handcuffs before deputies got him under control. He was booked on counts that include armed robbery, false imprisonment with a deadly weapon, falsely personating an officer with a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and resisting without violence. A judge ordered him held without bond, and online jail listings show he is housed at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Records, Prior Bookings and What Comes Next
Public booking and arrest logs available online show a Joel Xavier McNeil with past Miami-Dade County bookings, including entries in 2024 and 2025. Those compilations are drawn from public records and should be confirmed through official court files.
The case remains under investigation and will move into the county’s pretrial process as prosecutors review the sheriff’s probable cause packet and decide how to proceed.
