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Cops Say They've ID'd Samurai Swordsman Who Attacked Jogger In Trash Dispute
Todd Beavers was out for a jog when he claimed a dump cart from a junk pile in his neighborhood. As he made his way home, he said a man, who police have identified as Curtis Miller, followed him and unsheathed his blade.
A Florida man accused of waving a samurai sword at a jogger in broad daylight over a driveway dispute involving used junk is behind bars.
Police have charged 56-year-old Curtis Miller with second-degree attempted murder following the brazen attack.
Miller was arrested in Fort Lauderdale on Sept. 23 in connection to the summer attack. Police said a Crime Stoppers tip led to the man’s arrest. He had a warrant out for his arrest on several charges.
The incident occurred on July 15 after Todd Beavers, an Oakland Park resident, had gone for a jog in his neighborhood. During his workout, Beavers spotted a large pile of discarded junk, police said. A heavy duty garbage bin supposedly caught his eye. Upon removing the bin from the pile, he was allegedly approached by an irate Miller, who had pulled up earlier in a white pickup truck and was also examining the second-hand goods. Miller claimed he had seen the dump cart first.
"I saw a cart in the pile and I thought, 'I could use that,'" Beavers told WPLG Local 10 in August.
Beavers, however, snubbed Miller’s demands, defiantly snagged the dump cart, and continued on his jog.
“I turned behind me, and he had a sword out, chasing me, so I just kept running,” Beavers told Miami television station WSVN.
Once at home, the man, who police said is Miller, followed Beavers up his driveway and unsheathed what appears to be a samurai sword. Surveillance footage of the entire incident, which was released by law enforcement, shows Miller taking several swings at Beavers, who was on his cell phone at the time of the attack.
Miller attempted to “strike the victim’s arm and torso/neck with a real samurai sword,” according to an arrest warrant obtained by Oxygen.com.
The bandana-wearing jogger, who was unhurt — and unfazed — by the bizarre incident, calmly dodged the blade while using the garbage dump cart as a makeshift shield. The altercation lasted about 20 seconds.
"I guess he could have really hurt me," the 48-year-old added.
Oxygen.com was unable to reach Beavers for comment.
A Broward County Sheriff’s spokesperson described the incident as an “overreaction.”
“It’s not every day you see one person attacking another person with a sword, especially over an item that’s been trashed,” Keyla Concepción, a public information officer for Broward County Sheriff’s Office, told Oxygen.com last month.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a sword attack before,” Concepción added. “Who walks around with a sword? Not everybody you encounter is out and about carrying a sword. It’s not a common sight, unless you’re at a samurai convention. It’s odd.”
Police said Miller has gold teeth and Asian symbols tattooed on his neck. He reportedly went by more than 20 aliases, including Senalo Jackson, Paul Johnson, Victor Stokes, and other variations of those names. Miller was previously sentenced for drug and fraud-related offenses, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
Broward County authorities were unable to confirm if the sword involved in the alleged attack was recovered in their investigation.
No court date has been set for Miller, according to online court documents. He’s being held on $75,000 bond for the attempted murder charge. He was also booked for allegedly driving with a suspended license. It's unclear if he's retained legal counsel.
