Two men are facing armed robbery and aggravated assault charges after a gunpoint confrontation outside a South Miami-Dade home late Friday, with one of them now being held without bond as the case moves through court. Investigators say 26-year-old Ronaldo Merant and 24-year-old Kendly Artiste showed up armed at the home late on Aug. 21 and confronted several people outside, demanding a victim's bank card and money before deputies arrived and took them into custody.
According to WSVN 7News, Merant demanded a victim's bank card while displaying a firearm, and Artiste pointed a firearm at a third victim and demanded money, according to investigators. A second person at the scene tried to de-escalate the confrontation, while a third person confronted Artiste directly. One of the victims managed to get inside the home during the encounter, and the station reports that Merant and Artiste demanded that the second person bring that victim back outside.
Deputies Arrive as Victim Flags Them Down
Deputies happened upon the confrontation after spotting one of the victims flagging them down, per the same account. Both Merant and Artiste were still armed when deputies took them into custody, according to investigators. A judge later found probable cause to move the case forward.
The responding deputies were with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, which took over policing duties in unincorporated South Miami-Dade in January 2025 when the area shifted back from the Miami-Dade Police Department under newly elected Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, according to Miami-Dade County. That reorganization restored an elected sheriff's office to the county for the first time in nearly 60 years, which is why the officers involved in this case are designated as deputies rather than police officers. The agency is now the largest sheriff's office in the southeastern United States, employing more than 4,900 personnel across 2,400 square miles, according to information compiled on Wikipedia.
Charges Carry Mandatory Minimum Prison Time
Both men face two counts of armed robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon and one count of aggravated assault with a firearm. Under Florida Statute § 812.13(2)(a), robbery committed with a firearm or other deadly weapon is classified as a first-degree felony punishable by up to life imprisonment, according to Online Sunshine. If convicted, the men would also fall under Florida's 10-20-Life law, Florida Statute § 775.087, which imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in state prison for actual possession and display of a firearm during an armed robbery, as explained by The Brancato Law Firm.
The aggravated assault with a firearm charge is a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 784.021, carrying a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, per Hanlon Law. Notably, the Florida Legislature eliminated the three-year mandatory minimum sentence specifically for standalone aggravated assault with a firearm back in 2016, though firearm enhancements remain active when that charge accompanies a forcible felony like armed robbery, the Brancato Law Firm's research notes.
Merant Held Without Bond, Court Process Ahead
Merant was ordered held without bond on the two armed robbery counts, while receiving a $5,000 bond on the aggravated assault charge. Under Florida procedure, a defendant held without bond on armed robbery counts must remain in custody unless granted bail during a subsequent formal bond hearing or Arthur hearing, according to the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office. It remains unclear whether Artiste will also be held without bond during subsequent court appearances.
Both men were likely booked and processed for felony magistrate first appearances at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Doral, where Florida law requires arrested individuals to appear before a magistrate within 24 hours, per Miami-Dade County guidance. The county's corrections system houses between 4,000 and 4,200 inmates daily across its regional facilities, including Turner Guilford Knight and the MetroWest Detention Center, according to data compiled by BailBondsNow.org.
In Florida cases involving violent home confrontations like this one, judges routinely issue strict no-contact orders at first appearance barring defendants from communicating with or approaching victims directly or through third parties, according to the Andre Rouviere Law Office. Violating such an order can trigger a separate offense and immediate bond revocation. Whether the suspects and victims knew each other before the late-night encounter, and whether any bank card or cash actually changed hands before deputies intervened, remain open questions in the case.
The arrests come days after Hoodline reported on a separate case in which a gunpoint robbery netted $113K in gold elsewhere in Miami-Dade County, part of a string of recent gun-involved property crimes reported in the area.
