Man arrested after smashing police cruiser’s window with rock, going into Miami Springs canal, chief says
Mar 29, 2025
A police encounter in Miami Springs took a troubling turn when a man threw a blunt object at an officer’s cruiser, then went into a canal, an ordeal that led to his arrest, authorities said.
Video showed the suspect practicing his backstroke in an attempt to evade officers near North Royal Poin
ciana Boulevard, by the Hialeah Expressway, Saturday morning.
Concerned neighbors snapped pictures of a police cruiser shattered passenger’s side window, unsure of what was going on.
Miami Springs Police Chief Matthew Castillo described what preceded the chaotic confrontation that took place at around 9:30 a.m.
“We had an officer confront an individual who was acting erratic and throwing rocks at a sign,” he said.
It was at that moment when, Castillo said, the situation escalated.
“The subject put his attention to the officer and actually threw a rock at the officer, smashing the officer’s window,” he said.
Officers went after the man, later identified as 31-year-old Jandier Molina Arrieta, who, investigators said, began throwing metal train track spikes at them.
And into the canal the suspect went, police said, swimming and swimming until he got pretty far down the waterway.
“For the past couple of hours, we’ve been monitoring the subject’s movements through aviation on the Miami-Dade side,” said Castillo.
That’s when authorities decided to meet Molina Arrieta where he ended up. Two Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to reach him in a dinghy.
“We negotiated successfully to get him to come back to the bank of the canal,” said Castillo.
But once the suspect got to the bank of the canal, detectives said, the officers realized he had a weapon on him.
“Luckily, we had our K-9 deployed, and our K-9 took him into custody,” said Castillo.
Paramedics with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue took Molina Arrieta from there.
“Every day you go, speak to individuals, and you don’t know what they’re going through, and this one, obviously, was under some type of influence or having a mental episode, and look what it caused,” said Castillo.
Molina Arrieta faces several charges, including aggravated assault on a police officer. ...read more read less
