An Aventura man is facing five criminal charges after police said he attacked a construction crew working on his condominium building, leaving one worker bloodied after being struck with a helmet.
Police said officers were dispatched to Turnberry Towers at 19355 Turnberry Way just after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday following reports that resident Marco Masoero assaulted multiple workers on his balcony.
According to police, the 56-year-old appeared “very erratic” and told officers there were people on his balcony, claiming he didn’t know who they were or why they were there.
An arrest report states that one worker noticed Masoero’s balcony door was open, prompting his foreman to instruct him to close it for safety reasons. The foreman reportedly told the worker that Masoero had received multiple emails about the construction and had been warned not to open the balcony door.
Authorities said Masoero began yelling at the workers and slapped one of them as the worker attempted to explain their presence. Police said Masoero then grabbed a construction helmet and “threw it at him as hard as he could.”
The helmet struck the worker on the side of the head, then ricocheted and hit another worker in the face, causing visible bleeding and a possible broken nose, according to the report.
Police said that as the workers began rappelling down from the seventh floor “in fear,” Masoero threw a power drill at them, which landed on a temporary roof above the second floor.
According to authorities, Masoero admitted to slapping a worker and throwing the helmet but said he “couldn’t recall” whether he threw the drill. Police said he also acknowledged knowing that construction work was underway at the building.
Masoero, an Italian national, was arrested on two counts of aggravated battery, along with single counts of shooting or throwing a deadly missile, battery and criminal mischief.
Miami-Dade jail records listed Masoero’s bond as “to be set” as of Thursday afternoon.