Man refused to leave girls' dance class at Miami theater, attacked manager: Cops

A man who refused to leave a girls' dance rehearsal at a Miami theater attacked the manager who tried to make him leave, police said.

Manuel Arturo Baldizon-Sarria, 26, was arrested Monday on charges of burglary with assault or battery and resisting an officer without violence after the incident at the Manuel Artime Theater, an arrest report said.

According to the report, the city-owned theater on Southwest 1st Avenue in Little Havana was hosting a dance rehearsal involving several groups of young girls between the ages of 7-12.

Miami-Dade Corrections

Miami-Dade Corrections

During the rehearsal, the manager said he was alerted by several teachers that a suspicious man was inside the theater "standing uncomfortably close to the children," the report said.

Katerina San Juan Rodriguez, the owner of the dance studio who rented the theater for the rehearsal, said the man came inside and made several strange remarks to her and the parents.

“At first he asked one of my teachers if any of the children were up for adoption,” Rodriguez said. “He asked them, 'Oh, are you scared of me?'"

The manager and another person approached the man, later identified as Baldizon-Sarria, and told him to leave, but he went to the patio area and refused to leave, the report said.

“I felt really uncomfortable,” Rodriguez said. “I told him, 'I need you to step outside.'"

At one point, Baldizon-Sarria took a fighting stance and hit the manager twice in the face with an open hand, the report said.

The manager hit an emergency button on his radio and police responded to the theater.

“What he was saying put me on immediate alert because I have children there who were behind me,” Rodriguez said.

Officers found Baldizon-Sarria nearby and when they went to take him into custody, he "actively resisted by tensing his arms and pulling away," the report said.

After a brief struggle, officers were able to get him in custody.

Surveillance footage corroborated the manager's account of the incident, and Baldizon-Sarria was booked into jail, the report said.

During Baldizon-Sarria's bond court appearance Tuesday, a prosecutor said he had an open indecent exposure case from December.

A judge ordered him held without bond and appointed him a public defender.

"The safety and well-being of children and visitors at our public venues is a top priority for the City of Miami. We are aware of the incident and are in communication with the appropriate authorities. Immediate steps have been taken to review the matter internally and ensure that proper safeguards continue to remain in place," a city spokesperson said in a statement. "Because it's an ongoing investigation, and the individuals involved, we are unable to comment further at this time. However, we remain committed to maintaining a safe environment for all who use our facilities."

“If he would have had a weapon or anything on him it could have been a dangerous situation,” Rodriguez said. “I hope he gets the help that he needs.”