A father accused with his son of attacking two men while allegedly making discriminatory statements in a southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood has turned himself in to face charges, officials said.
Marc Hughes Sr., 55, was booked into the Miami-Dade jail on one count of battery with prejudice, records showed.
His son, 26-year-old Marc Hughes Jr., was arrested on the same charge last week.
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The alleged incident happened back on Jan. 17 in the 16900 block of Southwest 139th Place.
According to an arrest report, the two victims were marketing for an insurance adjuster company in the neighborhood and knocked on a door answered by the elder Hughes.
They were speaking about the business when Hughes Sr. told them "You are breaking the system, take your business to the other side of the border," the report said.
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Hughes Sr. made several other comments that referred to the victims as Latinos as the two men started to leave, the report said.
Moments later, Marc Hughes Jr. exited the home and ran toward both victims, who were a couple houses away, the report said.
The father and son grabbed one of the victims by his arms and began ripping his shirt before they started hitting him, the report said.
The victim said he laid on thr ground in a fetal position while the pair punched and kicked him, the report said. The other victims tried to intervene but was pushed away, the report said.
Hughes Sr. continued to yell at the victims to "take your business across the border," the report said.
Luis Lobo, one of the victims, recounted the incident in an interview with NBC 6 earlier this week.
"My first thought was my life is in danger,” Lobo said. "Why? I haven't done anything."
He said he was thankful to be alive after the attack.
"There's no explanation for what happened to me,” Lobo said. “My life could've ended right there if I didn't make the right move."
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said Hughes Jr. is a firefighter trainee, who they've now placed on administrative leave from the EMT Academy. The department said it's conducting an investigation before taking any further administrative action.
