Inset: Austin Caresani (Broward County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The intersection where Caresani was arrested after an alleged home invasion in Wilton Manors, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida man was recently arrested after a home invasion gone awry, according to law enforcement in the Sunshine State. But it wasn’t necessarily the arrest that left the defendant in dire straits.
Austin Caresani, 31, stands accused of one count of home invasion without a firearm, according to Broward County court records.
The incident occurred at a house near the intersection of N.E. 3rd Avenue and N.E. 24th Street in Wilton Manors – a small town located just a few miles due north of Fort Lauderdale in the Miami metro area, according to an arrest report obtained by Law&Crime.
But Henny Rojas was at that house when the unknown man walked in. And Rojas is a trained MMA fighter. Being more or less prepared for all-comers in and out of the Octagon, the suspect was no exception.
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The defendant’s mug shot shows the upshot of the confrontation that unfolded in the small, suburban community on Saturday.
And Rojas was voluble about putting his prowess to Caresani’s face.
“I’m prepared,” the proud pugilist told Miami-based CBS affiliate WFOR. “It’s not my first time. I don’t feel any pain. Nothing.”
In an interview, the brother of the homeowner shadowboxed a bit for the cameras, decked out in shades of purple, and demonstrated the moves that put a quick end to last weekend’s alarming intrusion.
“I don’t like guns,” Rojas said – adding that he wasn’t looking for a knife to engage the other man, “just God and my hands and that’s all.”
To hear Rojas tell it, the call came from his nephew.
“He was saying, ‘Uncle, uncle, wake up, wake up,'” the professional mixed martial artists continued.
After that, Rojas did in fact wake up, confront the unwelcome man and a beating ensued.
The TV station also interviewed the teenager’s parents – who said they were out of town when they got a harrowing phone call from their son in the middle of the night about the break-in.
“They come running fast and started punching him in the face,” the boy’s father told WFOR.
Caresani, for his part, insists the whole thing was a mistake – guided by the spirits he imbibed at a local watering hole.
“The defendant does not know any of the residents and made entry through the front door without permission or lawful authority,” the arrest report reads. “Post-Miranda, the defendant advised that he had consumed several alcoholic beverages at a nearby club and was attempting to go to his friend ‘Paul’s’ house, who he stated resides in the area.”
At some point, mistake or not, Caresani attempted “to elude one of the witnesses,” according to the Wilton Manors Police Department.
That alleged effort clearly did not go so well.
“We’re not scared, I’m not scared,” Rojas told Miami-based NBC affiliate WTVJ. “It’s too fast, I don’t remember, I just protect my family and that’s it.”
The defendant was detained in the Broward County Jail before being was released on $20,000 bond, court records show.
