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Former Florida judge arrested after pulling gun on neighbor

Miguel Fernando Mirabel, 51, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm.
 
A former South Florida judge who resigned this year amid misconduct allegations is now accused of pulling a gun on his neighbor.
A former South Florida judge who resigned this year amid misconduct allegations is now accused of pulling a gun on his neighbor. [ Photo illustration by ASHLEY DYE and MARTHA ASENCIO RHINE | Times ]
Published Oct. 12, 2021

CORAL GABLES — A former South Florida judge who resigned this year amid misconduct allegations is now accused of pulling a gun on his neighbor.

Miguel Fernando Mirabel, 51, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm following an argument on Sunday at the apartment complex where he lives in Coral Gables, an arrest report said.

The report said Mirabel was unloading groceries in the garage of his building when a man asked to be let in through a gate, saying he’d left his phone upstairs in his cousin’s apartment. They began arguing; Mirabel said the man became belligerent and called him names. Mirabel told the man he was “going to fight him.”

The man called 911, and investigators said a recording of the call contradicts aspects of Mirabel’s story, the report said..

The former Miami-Dade County judge told police he had asked the man which apartment he lived in, and the man offered an apartment number that didn’t exist.

The neighbor came down and let the cousin into the garage, the report said.

The former judge also told investigators that he held his unloaded handgun behind his back with the safety on, the report said. But on the 911 recording, the man was heard saying: “Do not get near me, go back, and leave me alone,” and he told the dispatcher “he has a Glock,” and “he cocked it twice.”

Maribel was booked into jail, posted bond and was released. It was not immediately known whether he has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf.