A 77-year-old man is facing charges in connection with a shootout in Miami involving an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer.
Ruel Robert Maxwell was arrested on charges including attempted second-degree murder, attempted burglary, and unlawfully discharging a firearm.
The incident happened around 5:45 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Northeast 7th Avenue and 71st Street.
An arrest report said Maxwell had first tried opening the front door of a home before allegedly trying to get into a vehicle.
At one point, the off-duty CBP officer confronted Maxwell and told him to leave, and that’s when Maxwell pulled out a revolver and fired a shot in the officer’s direction, the report said.
The officer returned fire three times, but neither of them were hit by the gunfire or injured, the report said.
Police responded and took Maxwell into custody.
In bond court Wednesday, a prosecutor said Maxwell may have dementia and mental health issues, and his defense attorney said he has Alzheimer’s.
“This is a very sad issue of a man with Alzheimer’s,” the attorney said. “He has dementia judge, he lost his wife two years ago.”
Judge Mindy Glazer seemed to agree that Maxwell needed some sort of treatment.
“The biggest issue is number one, need to remove all the guns from his home,” Glazer said. “I think the best way to help him is to see if we can get him transported to the hospital for medical care.”
A CBP spokesperson said their Office of Professional Responsibility responded to the scene and was reviewing the incident.