Li’l Abner resident found guilty of charges related to rent-payment quarrel
A woman who was dragged and thrown to the ground by a police officer while trying to pay rent amid the mass eviction at Li’l Abner Mobile Home Park was found guilty on Wednesday evening.
Vivian Hernandez, 62, who was wearing a pastel heart sweater, rocked in her chair as the verdict was read. The jury deliberated for about 30 minutes.
Hernandez’s trial began Tuesday afternoon before Miami-Dade County Court Judge Ritamaria Cuervo. Hernandez was convicted of disorderly conduct, trespassing and resisting arrest without violence.
After the verdict, Hernandez was sentenced to six months of probation.
Hernandez took the stand during her trial, detailing how the casual office visit escalated — and ended with her in handcuffs. She testified that she was scared and nervous when the officer yanked her out of a chair and dragged her on the floor.
The scuffle was captured on body camera and surveillance footage that was played in court.
Hernandez, prosecutors say, ignored, refused and resisted the officer’s orders to leave the office — raising her voice and disturbing the peace
“He pulled me up again and threw me to the ground,” Hernandez said in Spanish, adding that her glasses broke during the quarrel. “When I was on the floor, he immobilized me and placed his knee on my neck and his right hand held ... my hands [behind my back.]”
Hernandez testified that she felt like she couldn’t breathe when the officer pinned her to the ground. She said she spent five days in a hospital due to her injuries and had stroke-like symptoms.
On Tuesday, Sweetwater Police Sgt. Brian Arias testified that he tried to walk Hernandez out of the office, but she “began to further fight and that’s when I had to take her to the ground.”
READ MORE: Fighting eviction, Li’l Abner resident is on trial over rent-payment quarrel
At the time of the Dec. 4, 2024, incident, Hernandez, a resident of 16 years, was heading to the Li’l Abner office to pay her rent after her attorney told her to continue making payments so she and hundreds of other residents could fight the eviction.
Li’l Abner’s 3,000 or so residents were ordered to vacate their trailers because CREI Holdings, the landowner, intended to develop the land beneath the trailers to build a multi-family housing complex. The residents are still appealing the eviction in court.
READ MORE: ‘I have nothing’: How a mass eviction left retired, disabled Miamians homeless
When Hernandez entered the office, she said she had the check for the month’s rent, and a text related to the rent payment pulled up on her phone. She also said she voiced to office staff her concern that the landowner was demolishing trailers while people were still living at the trailer park without concern for their health.
As Hernandez aired out her frustration, an officer tapped her and started shouting, “get out” and “they don’t want you here, get out,” Hernandez said. On the stand, Hernandez denied yelling at staff.
Instead, a very Miami defense emerged: She said she was “talking in a loud voice,” as is typical for many Cubans.
“I didn’t understand what the instructions were ... because the final objective of the landowner was for us to leave,” Hernandez said, facing jurors.
Hernandez said she sat down in a chair, but the confrontation escalated when the officer, she said, tried to take her phone. Hernandez said she moved her arm back, and the rough takedown began.
Emotional behind her glasses, Hernandez said she had never been arrested or had a negative interaction with police.
“I am ... similar to all you,” Hernandez told the jury. “I’ve never been aggressive or problematic.”
Miami Herald Staff Writer Max Klaver contributed to this report
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 4:23 PM.
