Two Miami roommates say they were forced to defend themselves after a man armed with a large kitchen knife allegedly entered their apartment and tried to evict them.
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The incident happened Monday afternoon at the Art Plaza apartment building in Miami.
Brock Tidwell said he was in his room eating a snack when he noticed an unexpected visitor standing in his doorway.
“I was just eating some food. I was doing some cheese and crackers, and I see a guy come into the room,” Tidwell said. “He just opens it and is standing at the doorway.”
According to Tidwell, the man was holding a large chef’s knife and told him in Spanish to gather his belongings and leave.
“He told me, ‘Pack yourself, let’s go,’” Tidwell recalled.
Fearing for his safety, Tidwell said he immediately called out to his roommate for help.
“I started yelling for Jay, saying, ‘Hey, he’s got a knife, help,’” he said.
According to Miami Police, Tidwell began recording the encounter on his cellphone, and the suspect allegedly lunged at him in an attempt to knock the phone out of his hand.
The man was later identified as Jose Ramirez.
Tidwell and his roommate Jayden said they wrestled Ramirez to the ground and held him there until officers arrived.
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“He kept trying to grab into his pockets,” Jayden said. “So we kept telling him, ‘Put your hands above your head on the ground.’ Every time he didn’t want to do that, I would make him stop.”
The roommates said they recorded video of the confrontation but declined to share it publicly in order to protect the ongoing investigation.
Police said Ramirez had been sent to the apartment to remove the tenants on behalf of the woman subletting the unit, identified as Charin Ojeda.
Both Ramirez and Ojeda were arrested and charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling.
Miami Police said the alleged attempt to remove the tenants was not a legal eviction.
“It is against the law,” Miami police said. “Residents of homes or apartments have to go through the legal system. This involves receiving an eviction notice, obtaining an eviction order, and the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office—not the landlord—is responsible for carrying out that order.”
As of Tuesday night, Ramirez remained in jail with an immigration hold and had been denied bond.
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The investigation remains ongoing.