A Pembroke Pines man is facing hate-crime charges for allegedly punching two men and kicking their dog while shouting obscenities about their Cuban nationality, officials said.
During a bizarre bond court appearance Monday, Alexander Gomez-Jimenez, 30, claimed he could not have acted as charged because of physical limitations.
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement report shows that Gomez-Jimenez has numerous aliases, including Steven Gluck, and has been arrested more than two dozen times since 1999, including once for impersonating someone else and for brawling in public.
Reading from a Pembroke Pines Police report, Broward Judge John "Jay" Hurley said Gomez-Jimenez approached the two men as they walked their 50-pound boxer along the 2200 block of Buttonwood Avenue on Sunday evening and began yelling at them.
"You said 'You stupid Cubans, I hate Cubans.' At that point you kicked the dog, causing it to yelp in pain," Hurley read.
Gomez-Jimenez then started punching the two men, hitting them both on the face, Hurley said. The men managed to run away and called police.
During Monday's hearing, Gomez-Jimenez told Hurley he was "brutally" beaten by the men. Throughout the hearing, Gomez-Jimenez kept stretching his right arm out and wiggling his wrist.
"Your honor, I am handicapped. I wouldn't attack two Cubans and a dog, your honor," Gomez-Jimenez said.
He added that he had four surgeries on the arm and showed Hurley the scars.
"If I break this arm, I will be a paraplegic, your honor," he continued. "I wouldn't step into a situation where I would fight two Cubans and their boxer dog."
The two men suffered minor facial injuries, and the dog did not appear to be seriously injured, Hurley said
Gomez-Jimenez was charged with two counts of battery and one count of animal cruelty. The two battery charges were classified as a "hate crime" carrying a stiffer penalty. If he's convicted, Gomez-Jimenez faces up to one year in prison.
Earlier this year, he pleaded no contest to public brawling and was sentenced to six months of probation.
He has also been arrested three times since June on trespassing charges at the Pembroke Lakes Mall and is awaiting trail on those cases, state records show.
Hurley ordered that Gomez-Jimenez be held in jail with no bond.
"It looks like every time you get out of jail, you end up coming back," Hurley said.
ijrodriguez@tribune.com; 954-s or @GeoRodriguez on Twitter and Instagram. ___
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