‘He’s a crazy person’: Police arrest man accused of threatening shoppers with metal stick

By Sheldon Fox, Rubén Rosario

Click here for updates on this story

    MIAMI BEACH, Florida (WSVN) — An armed man created some scary moments for shoppers at a South Beach store, at one point coming close to a mother and her baby, but he was no match for responding officers, police said.

According to Miami Beach Police and store manager Uzi Benoliel, Doc Brewster targeted unsuspecting tourists at the Surf Style at 421 Lincoln Road, March 19.

“He went after two people that were coming with luggage to the store,” said Benoliel.

His weapon of choice, Benoliel said, was a metal stick.

“He took the stick and started, like, going after people. I was kind of scared,” he said.

The arrest report states Brewster was “threatening employees and customers while armed with a long metal object.

“With a long, sharp thing in his hand,” said Benoliel. “Aggressive.”

The manager of this store, part of a chain that sells swim and beachwear, said he immediately noticed something was off about the unwanted drop-in.

“The way he looked at the people, like, the way he go with the stick, was scary,” he said.

Benoliel said he tried to talk to Brewster, but that did not go well.

The arrest report states Brewster “threatened him while inside the store by aggressively walking towards him and then raising the object over his head as if he was going to strike him with it.”

Security footage shows the suspect with the stick in his hand. At one point, he is seen inches from a woman and baby.

“He’s very dangerous to every person,” said Benoliel. “I tried to speak to him, take him out of the store.”

The store manager said he eventually steered the man out of the store and called 911.

“He’s a crazy person,” said Benoliel.

Miami Beach Police officers responded shortly after and took Brewster into custody just outside the shop.

This wasn’t the first time this Surf Style location has had unwanted, criminal visitors.

In September of 2023, 7News broke the story of an ugly beatdown, as two store employees who confronted high school girls and another woman regarding the theft of vape pens were jumped by the suspects. Police arrested several people.

Thankfully, no one was injured in this latest incident, but police had just arrested Brewster weeks earlier for an alleged knife attack on a condominium security guard nearby. Now, he’s back in jail.

“I think this guy shouldn’t be out on the street,” said Benoliel.

Brewster has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest for the March 19 incident, and he is facing an assault charge for the incident involving the security guard. He is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.