A confrontation over public urination outside a Little Havana restaurant turned into a bloody brawl early Saturday, leaving a man stabbed multiple times in the head and hands and three suspects facing felony charges plus federal immigration holds. Police say the victim and a friend were walking to their car after leaving Café Honduras Maya when the situation exploded into violence just after midnight.
According to WSVN, the trouble began when the victim spotted the suspects urinating in the parking lot outside the restaurant at 2980 NW 7th Street and told them to stop. Police arrest records reviewed by Local 10 News specify that witnesses say the confrontation started when the victim saw suspect Jose Luis Martinez urinating in an alleyway next to the café and asked him to stop. Café Honduras Maya sits in Little Havana, a commercial and residential district just west of Downtown Miami, according to the same report.
From Words to a Knife Fight in Seconds
Instead of walking away, the suspects approached the victim and began arguing, then rushed toward him and started striking him, per the station's report. The victim pulled a knife to defend himself, and one suspect took it from him and used it to stab him multiple times in the head and hands, WSVN reports.
The victim's friend tried to de-escalate the situation and told the group he was armed and did not want any problems, placing his firearm inside his vehicle, according to the outlet. He was punched during the confrontation, and the suspects were still on top of the victim when the friend stepped back out of his vehicle. The suspects then fled on foot toward a white pickup truck, the report states.
Suspects Admit to Blows, Deny the Stabbing
Police identified the three suspects as Deyton Rojas, 32, Jose Luis Martinez, 41, and Helder Rojas, 30, with Martinez detained at the scene, per WSVN. During police interrogations, all three suspects admitted to hitting the victim during the physical dispute, but each denied taking his knife or stabbing him, according to arrest records cited by Local 10 News. Investigators say cellphone video provided by the victim corroborated his account of how the stabbing unfolded, according to the same arrest records.
The victim was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment. The facility's Ryder Trauma Center is Miami-Dade County's only adult and pediatric Level I trauma center verified by the American College of Surgeons, treating roughly 5,500 critical patients a year, according to Jackson Health System.
Bond Set, But ICE Holds Keep Them Locked Up
Deyton Rojas was charged with attempted second-degree murder with a deadly weapon, according to the arrest report cited by WSVN. Under Florida Statutes §§ 782.04(2) and 777.04, attempted second-degree murder is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, per Pumphrey Law. The firm notes that the charge hinges on an act imminently dangerous to another that shows a depraved mind, without requiring any proof of premeditation.
At their initial court appearance on Monday, Helder Rojas was ordered held without bond, while bond was set at $15,000 for Deyton Rojas and $10,500 for Martinez, Local 10 News reports. But none of that may matter for their release: all three were placed on federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds following their arrest, according to the outlet's reporting. Federal ICE detainers prevent individuals from being released even if they meet monetary bond conditions.
Police records indicate Deyton Rojas and Helder Rojas are Nicaraguan nationals while Martinez is a Mexican national, with all three residing at different addresses in Little Havana, per Local 10 News. The City of Miami separately prohibits public urination and defecation under Chapter 37, Section 37-11 of its Code of Ordinances, according to a filing published by Florida Public Notices, the kind of minor quality-of-life rule that, in this case, preceded a near-fatal stabbing.
Not the First Flare-Up at a Little Havana Eatery
This is not the first time a small dispute at a Little Havana dining spot has turned violent. Hoodline previously reported on a restroom brawl that left a woman with a fractured eye socket, part of a pattern in which minor verbal altercations at neighborhood businesses have repeatedly escalated into felony prosecutions. Formal charges in Miami-Dade County felony violent crime cases are typically filed within 21 days of arrest, meaning the final charges against all three men could still shift in the coming weeks.
