South Beach fitness influencer Armando Fogaça has been acquitted of the most serious charges stemming from a May 5, 2025 traffic confrontation that left a Miami Beach motorman injured. After the case wrapped, he left the United States, saying he self-deported to Brazil, a move that capped more than a year of legal and immigration drama.
Fogaça told WSVN he never hit the officer with his bike and turned down a five-year plea offer while he waited for trial. “The motorcycle never touched his body, never,” he said, adding, “I took the wrong decision to leave, but I should have stopped.” He said he spent about nine months in county jail and roughly three more in federal custody before departing the country.
Body-cam footage and the crash
Body-worn camera and surveillance video released in the case show the moments prosecutors said Fogaça pulled away with Officer Anthony Guzman behind him, followed by a crash on the MacArthur Causeway, according to Local10. Police accounts and the recordings show Guzman receiving medical treatment for fractured ribs and abrasions; on the body-cam audio he can be heard saying, “I just been struck by a vehicle.”
Court outcome and detention
Public court records reviewed by Gazeta News show that in February 2026 a jury found Fogaça not guilty on the major felony counts, while convicting him on lesser offenses for driving without a valid license and failing to obey police orders. Those outcomes are reflected in the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts docket. Fogaça later described his time in custody and eventual departure from the U.S. in his interview with WSVN.
Legal and immigration notes
The felony acquittals end his exposure on those counts, but the remaining convictions can still mean fines, license-related penalties and possible civil liability under Florida law, according to court records and legal observers. On a separate track, immigration custody runs independently of state criminal cases. “Voluntary departure” and other forms of self-deportation allow a person to leave the country without a formal removal order and can carry different long-term immigration consequences than deportation, per a legal overview from FindLaw.
What’s next
With the felony case closed, it is still unclear whether prosecutors will seek any additional remedies or whether civil claims might follow. The original confrontation, the video evidence and the later immigration hold all shaped how the saga played out in Miami Beach. Hoodline first reported Fogaça’s arrest in May 2025; for more background, see our earlier coverage Fogaça charged.
