73-Year-Old Driver Accused of Gunning Car at Miami Officer, Fleeing Church Traffic Stop

A 73-year-old driver is facing an aggravated assault charge after Miami police say he accelerated toward an officer directing traffic outside a church, nearly striking him before fleeing the scene in a white Toyota. Marcos Tulio Escobar was taken into custody following the confrontation near Northwest 61st Street and Second Avenue on Sunday, and he appeared in bond court the next day, where a judge found probable cause and set his bond at $5,500.

According to WSVN 7News, officers were working an off-duty traffic detail at VOUS Church, which holds services inside the auditorium of iTech at Thomas A. Edison Educational Center along Northwest Second Avenue, a Miami-Dade County Public Schools technology magnet high school, according to DigiCo. Investigators told the outlet Escobar was driving southbound on Northwest Second Avenue at an excessive speed while pedestrians were crossing near Northwest 61st Street when officers signaled for him to slow down.

Driver Allegedly Refused to Stop, Then Accelerated

Per investigators, Escobar told officers he would not slow down because he only listens to traffic lights, not law enforcement. Officers then told him he was being stopped and was not free to leave, but per investigators, he accelerated while an officer was standing in front of his vehicle, forcing the officer to move out of the way to avoid being hit. The officer was not injured in the encounter, the report notes.

Escobar also resisted by brushing an officer's hands away, per investigators, before continuing to drive until his vehicle stopped near Northwest 53rd Street and Second Avenue, where officers took him into custody. He now faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding a police officer, resisting an officer without violence, failure to obey a police officer or firefighter, and refusal to sign and accept a summons.

Felony Exposure Under Florida Law

Under Florida Statute § 784.07, committing an aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer reclassifies the offense from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony, raising the maximum statutory penalty to as much as 15 years in state prison, according to Sobel Defense. Separately, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer is generally a third-degree felony carrying up to 5 years, though it escalates to a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years if the flight involves high speeds or wanton disregard for public safety, per the Brancato Law Firm.

The lesser charges carry their own penalties. Resisting an officer without violence is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine under Florida Statute § 843.02, according to Hussein & Webber. Willfully failing to comply with an officer's lawful order on a public road is a second-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statute § 316.072(3), carrying up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, while refusing to accept and sign a traffic summons under Florida Statute § 318.14(3) is likewise a second-degree misdemeanor with a maximum 60-day jail term, according to the Florida Senate.

Bond Hearing at the Gerstein Justice Building

Escobar's first appearance took place at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, where Miami-Dade magistrates typically conduct bond hearings within 24 hours of an arrest to establish probable cause and set bail, according to the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office. It remains unclear whether Escobar has entered a plea or retained an attorney, and no further court dates have been made public.

The case follows a string of recent Miami-area incidents in which drivers escalated routine traffic stops into physical danger for officers. Just weeks ago, Hoodline reported that prosecutors cleared a deputy involved in a December 2025 traffic stop outside Miami Central High School, where a fleeing driver nearly struck the deputy before abandoning the vehicle. In April, a Miami driver was arrested after ramming a parked car outside a church, injuring a police detective, and leading officers on a pursuit before crashing, according to Hoodline's earlier coverage. Whether Escobar's actions were the product of a deliberate refusal to comply or a miscommunication during off-duty traffic direction remains an open question the case will have to resolve in court.