A Southwest Miami-Dade man was arrested Wednesday evening after Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies said he confronted a group of children playing “ding dong ditch” and pistol-whipped one of them in the ear. The child needed multiple stitches.
Juan Francisco Carranza, 32, was arrested outside his home along Southwest 161st Place, according to the sheriff’s office. He faces one felony count of aggravated child abuse with great bodily harm and two felony counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.
According to the arrest report, the incident happened around 7:35 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22. Two child victims told a deputy that they and several friends had knocked on about four homes when a black Mercedes-Benz pulled up beside them. The report said the driver, later identified as Carranza, got out with a handgun and asked the group who was the oldest. When the children did not answer, he struck one of them on the side of the head with the gun’s grip, causing a severe laceration to the left ear. A second child witnessed the attack and reported it the next morning.
A detective spotted Carranza walking out of his home at about 6:52 p.m. Wednesday and took him into custody without incident, the report said. Carranza made a partial admission during questioning but declined to say whether he had a firearm without an attorney present. His total bond was set at $10,000, and he was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
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