Man who barricaded himself at home first pointed gun at victim in restaurant, cops say
Before the armed man barricaded himself inside his home, he pulled a gun out and put it on the table at a restaurant during a fight with his girlfriend, according to an arrest report.
On Thursday, police said Matthew Touchstone, 52, had been arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, tampering with a witness and battery.
Northwest Second Avenue was shut down for hours Wednesday morning as Miami police’s SWAT team tried to negotiate with Touchstone, who barricaded himself inside a building at 202 NE 55th Terrace, near Little Haiti and Buena Vista neighborhoods.
According to police, the problem started Tuesday night when the victim came home at around 6 p.m. to find Touchstone “highly intoxicated.”
She then asked him to go to dinner with her at Fiorito, 5555 NE Second Ave., according to the police report.
“While having dinner at the restaurant, the victim stated that the defendant began yelling at her obscenities and behaving in a disorderly manner,” an officer wrote in the report. “The defendant then got up and left but returned shortly after armed with a black handgun. The defendant placed the handgun on top of the table with the barrel pointing toward the victim.”
The victim then asked Touchstone to go home with her in order to “deescalate the situation,” police said.
After returning home, police said Touchstone confronted the victim about her having a relationship with her boss.
“The Defendant became enraged and brandished a black handgun, subsequently, pointing it at the victim and stated, ‘I would’ve killed you already if I hadn’t been arrested before,’ ” the officer wrote in the report.
The woman grabbed his phone and called 911 for help. Touchstone, according to the report, snatched the phone back and grabbed the woman by her hair and dragged her outside. He kicked her on the side of the face, police said.
When officers arrived, Touchstone had already gone back inside the home and refused to come out. After several hours, he surrendered to Miami police’s SWAT officers.
Touchstone told police he was at the restaurant with the victim, but did not have a firearm, according to the report. He also “admitted to grabbing the cellphone away from the victim when she dialed 911 and also grabbed her by her hair during the physical altercation,” the officer wrote.
This story was originally published February 28, 2019 at 9:22 PM.
