"Miami Beach"

Published on: August 18, 2025

Fire at North Miami Beach High-Rise Apartment Over the Weekend. What to Know.

Firefighters put out a blaze at a high-rise in North Miami Beach that caught fire overnight Saturday, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Emergency responders were called out to the area just before 7 p.m. Friday after getting reports that a 10-story apartment building near the 3700 block of Northeast 166th Street had caught fire. When they arrived, they found heavy smoke coming from an apartment on the sixth floor and evacuated everyone inside. The fire did not spread to nearby units.

At least three people were treated at the scene by paramedics but did not require transport to a nearby hospital. One resident told reporters that she noticed debris falling onto her balcony. She ran from her apartment and knocked on the doors of her neighbors to alert them before fleeing the building.

Published on: July 30, 2025

Two Minors Died in Miami Beach Boat Crash Monday. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Two children have died and two more are in the hospital after a barge hit a sailboat carrying several minors and a camp counselor, 19, from the Miami Youth Sailing Foundation, according to reporting from local media.

The incident happened around 11:15 a.m. between Monument Island and Hibiscus Island in Miami Beach. The collision, which caused the barge to go over the top of the sailboat and caused the sailboat to sink, sent an adult counselor and five children into the water. The children on board ranged in age from 7 to 13 years old, officials said.

Two children — a 7-year-old girl and 13-year-old girl — died at the hospital. Two other girls, 8 and 11 years old, were taken to the hospital and remained in critical condition as of Tuesday morning.

Published on: July 28, 2025

‘It Doesn’t Go Away:’ Flamingo Point Armed Robbery Victims and Leesfield & Partners Clients Speak Out Following Harrowing Ordeal.

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners is representing three victims of a traumatic armed robbery that took place on June 17 at Flamingo Point, a luxury apartment complex in Miami Beach.

The case is being led by Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney at the firm. Leesfield & Partners, a personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience representing the victims of crimes and negligent security cases, filed the lawsuit against Mr. Lopez, the building’s security company, Flamingo Point and its parent company.

On Tuesday, July 15, at the Leesfield & Partners office on U.S. 1 in Coconut Grove, Jacob Kirstein, Kylee Holland and Gary Burns spoke out to the media regarding the terrifying ordeal.

Published on: March 16, 2016

Resort Torts – Spring Break

By Leesfield & Partners

Florida beaches and warm weather resorts throughout the Caribbean are packed with Spring breakers. We just returned from our annual Key West seminar navigating mopeds, bicycles, Hoverboards, skateboards, parasailers, jet skiers and the whole gamut of fun resort stuff. This week in Miami is the Ultra Music Festival, and Florida beaches, from the Panhandle to the Atlantic and Gulf Coast down to the Florida Keys are just mobbed.

Click here to read our latest Petition online

Tragically, we have already received a number of calls from students and the families of spring breakers on vacation reporting hazardous and dangerous conditions on the roads, in the water and at resort properties.

Published on: June 4, 2014

Electrocuted workers in Miami Beach in critical condition at Ryder Trauma Center

By Leesfield & Partners

On 69th Street and Harding Avenue in Miami Beach, two men working on an apartment complex renovations and repairs were violently electrocuted when they came into contact with a power line.

The two workers’ identities have yet to be released by the authorities, but some of the facts of this incident seem to be without dispute at this early stage. The two men were in the bucket of a cherry picker. A Miami Beach resident whose window was close from where the incident took place, Greg Maas, woke up to loud screams outside his window. When he looked out into the street, he saw the two men laying flat at the bottom of the bucket.

Photo courtesy of wsvn – 7News

Published on: September 28, 2012

Masseur at Fontainebleau Hotel arrested for sexually assaulting guest

By Leesfield & Partners

Francisco Araica, 26, was arrested this week for sexually assaulting a guest at the Fontainebleau Hotel where Araica works as a masseur.

Last Sunday, a female guest, who was a habitual visitor of the Lapis Spa at the hotel was sexually assaulted during a massage. The victim told police that the assault happened in the middle of the massage. Apparently the victim was in too much fear that Araica would become more violent, she confronted her assailant after the assault had stopped. Approximately 10 minutes later, Araica left the room. She immediately left the room as well and contacted police. Through his attorney, Araica surrendered and was charged with one count of sex battery.

This morning, the alleged molester paid his bond and was seen leaving the Miami-Dade County jail with a jacket over his face, not to be seen by cameras.

Published on: March 26, 2012

Fontainebleau hotel security questioned after two sexual assaults in four days

By Leesfield & Partners

Miami Beach Police Department are currently investigating two cases of sexual assaults that occurred last week at the Fountainebleau. As crucial a priority security in hotels, motels and resorts in Florida should be, our negligent security lawyers and inadequate security attorneys’ experience indicates security in hotels is severely lacking and more often that not contributes to guests becoming victims to sexual assaults.

Over the last four days, two guests staying at the Fountainebleau were sexually abused and assaulted. The first victim, a 23 year-old woman, returned to her hotel room and fell asleep on her bed when she was awaken by a naked man who was laying on top of her. The woman fought the man off and screamed for help. The assailant took flight and the victim ran to her sister’s guest room next door and called for help.

Investigators of the Miami Beach Police Department reviewed the surveillance camera footage and had sufficient evidence to arrest the alleged assailant, Rafael Munguia, 26, who was also staying at the hotel at the time. The surveillance footage showed Munguia leave the victim’s hotel room naked and run to his own hotel room. On the evening of the assault, the Police arrested Munguia on charges of rape, and he confessed to raping the young woman less than 24 hours later.

The second assault occurred by the pool area of the Fountainebleau. At around 2am, the victim’s boyfriend left the victim by herself for less than a half hour. When he returned, he saw a man on top of his girlfriend. The subject had his pants down and was physically grinding on the woman in a sexual manner. Two hotel employees witnessed the male subject run off the hotel’s property wearing nothing but a pair of underwear and carrying clothes in his hands.
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