4 April 10-16, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ MIAMI SPRINGS DOG DAY LOCAL K-9 NOTCHES A BUST. BY THEO KARANTSALIS P olice arrested a Hialeah man late last month after he allegedly threw railroad spikes through a window of one of the city’s police cars, then jumped into the Miami River and swam nearly half a mile through alligator-in- fested waters in an effort to evade capture. At 8:56 a.m. on Saturday, March 30, while on a routine patrol, Miami Springs police ob- served Jandier Arrieta, 31, of Hialeah, “pick- ing up rocks from the ground and throwing them at the City of Miami Springs welcome sign,” according to an arrest report. The 1500 block of North Royal Poinciana Boulevard is near a railroad crossing locals use to walk across the canal to the Okeechobee Metrorail station. The officer hit his lights and siren and gave chase. “As he ran, [Arrieta] reached into his pocket and pulled out two large metal train track spikes, which he threw at the [occu- pied] patrol vehicle,” shattering the rear pas- senger-side window and denting the door, according to the arrest affidavit. Arrieta then turned back toward the train station and jumped into the Miami River, “swimming northbound toward the City of Hialeah.” Signs dotting the river banks warn: “Be- ware of alligators.” More than a dozen police officers from Virginia Gardens, Medley, Hialeah, and Mi- ami Springs joined in and closed roads abut- ting the river, which runs along Okeechobee Road. A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office helicop- ter provided aerial support. Arrieta was spotted near the Hialeah river bank at W. Eighth Avenue and Okeechobee Road. “The defendant had a tense posture, grip- ping a large rock in each hand, then forcefully threw the rock in his right hand toward the direction of [Miami Springs police] Sgt. J. Castillo,” the arrest report reads. “The rock did not strike J. Castillo.” Arrieta then dove back into the river and swam southward, with a johnboat in pursuit. According to the affidavit, the suspect exited the river again, this time at Hammond Drive and North Royal Poinciana Boulevard, again holding a rock. When he failed to comply with the offi- cers’ demands that he drop the rock, they “deployed K-9 Mando, who successfully ap- prehended the defendant,” according to the report. But Arrieta wasn’t done. “Defendant continued to resist arrest, clenching his fists and flailing his arms. After a brief struggle, the defendant was taken into custody. Miami-Dade fire rescue responded on scene and treated the defendant for bite wounds due to K-9 apprehension on his left forearm and right thumb. While attempting to load the defendant onto the Miami-Dade fire rescue gurney, the defendant proceeded to spit at Ofc. Aguila.” Reached by New Times, Miami Springs Police Chief Matthew Castillo described Ar- rieta’s apprehension as “a team effort. We re- ceived valuable support from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit, with helicopter pilot John Dweck, a Miami Springs native,” Castillo says. “Former Miami Springs Chief Pete Baan also assisted by pro- viding his boat, allowing us to negotiate with the individual to reach land. Additionally, I want to extend my gratitude to the Hialeah, Medley, and Virginia Gardens police depart- ments for their assistance.” Castillo was appointed as chief in January and later told the Miami Herald that his de- partment has “zero tolerance for crime.” Police say Arrieta was transported to Jack- son West Hospital for a medical evaluation and taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correc- tional Center. He is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, throwing a deadly missile, battery on a police officer, criminal mischief exceeding $1,000, criminal mischief between $200 and $1,000, and resisting ar- rest with violence. A bond hearing is sched- uled for Sunday. According to the Miami-Dade County courts database, Arrieta’s criminal record in- cludes a 2019 arrest for assault with a deadly weapon and two arrests in 2024, one for tres- passing, the other for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The arrest occurred as Boy Scouts were nearby, launching canoes for a springtime “Waterway Cleanup” wherein they com- peted to earn prizes for “most unusual item” and “biggest piece of trash” pulled from the water. | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS Miami Springs K-9 Mando Miami Springs Police Department photo/Facebook ▼ MIAMI FRONT AND CENTNER ANTI-VAX POWER COUPLE LAUNCHES ANTI-CANCEL CULTURE PODCAST. BY ALEX DELUCA T he Magic City’s favorite anti-vax couple, David and Leila Centner, is jumping on the podcast bandwagon — because ap- parently, the world needs yet another platform for so-called cancel culture victims. Earlier this week, the duo behind Centner Academy in Miami announced the launch of their anti-cancel culture podcast, ERASED! According to a press release, the show will feature in-depth interviews with guests such as former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, attorney Alan Der- showitz, ex-Papa Johns CEO John Schnatter, and longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, all of whom fell from grace for various reasons over the past decade or two. In a statement to New Times, the Centners say guests of the podcast are people who have “lost their livelihoods, their reputations, and in some cases even their freedom” thanks to good ‘ol cancel culture. “Podcasts can be a remarkably effective tool for dismantling false narratives and exposing the truth — indeed, there are numerous cases in which criminal convictions have been over- turned thanks to evidence presented in pod- casts,” the statement reads. “Our goal is to offer victims of cancel culture a similar opportunity for vindication.” According to the press release, ERASED! will debut on April 7 and will have episodes released weekly on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Rumble. The Centners — who made their fortune after selling their previous company, Highway Toll Administration LLC, a toll-collection tech company, for an undisclosed amount in March 2018 — own Centner Academy, a private K-12 school in Miami’s Design District. Since opening their school in 2019, they’ve made several generous donations to conservative causes, including $1 million to Republican funds in 2020. The couple made national headlines in 2021 after announcing that they wouldn’t employ teachers who had received the COVID-19 vaccine and telling parents to keep their vaccinated chil- dren home for a month to ensure they were “healthy and symptom-free.” That same year, David Centner (who report- edly invented the technology behind E-ZPass and SunPass) announced the launch of a new tech venture: Erase.com, a website that allows people to cleanse their online reputation by scrubbing the internet of negative news articles and Google search results. Naturally, the couple landed on New Times’ 2021 Dirty Dozen list. [email protected] “OUR GOAL IS TO OFFER VICTIMS OF CANCEL CULTURE A SIMILAR OPPORTUNITY FOR VINDICATION.”
