Police say the suspect asked for a cigarette and a phone moments before the attack by a closed lifeguard tower.
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Miami Beach police on Friday announced the arrest of 24-year-old Jack Daniel Gutierrez in a late-2025 neck-slashing that left a beach walker bleeding near the 1700 block of Collins Avenue.
Detectives said the case reached a turning point Thursday afternoon when officers located Gutierrez after issuing a departmentwide alert. The victim later identified him in a photo lineup, and jail records show he was booked on an aggravated battery with a weapon charge and held without bond. Police said he was on probation for an unrelated weapons offense when the attack happened. The motive remains unknown. A court hearing is expected Monday as prosecutors review the arrest report and decide on formal charges.
According to police, the victim was out for a walk and sat by a closed lifeguard tower along the beach when a man approached and asked for a cigarette. After being told the victim did not smoke, the man asked to borrow the victim’s phone. The victim declined. A short time later, the attacker came from the left with a knife or similar blade, drove the victim to the ground and slashed his neck, officers wrote. The victim fought back, felt a puncture to his neck and then noticed “a heavy volume of blood.” He used his phone’s voice assistant to call 911 while applying pressure.
Officers arrived to find a deep cut running from ear to ear, police said. Paramedics treated the victim and took statements while detectives began a search of the Collins Avenue corridor. The department broadcast a “be-on-the-lookout” alert, and on Thursday around 4 p.m., officers detained Gutierrez. Investigators said the victim picked him from a photographic lineup soon after. Police did not release the exact date of the late-2025 assault and did not identify the victim. Detectives also noted they have not publicly tied a recovered weapon to the case.
The stretch of Collins near 17th Street sits between hotels and the beach path, where lifeguard towers are prominent and often closed outside staffed hours. Miami Beach sees heavy foot traffic early and late in the day, with walkers cutting across from the boardwalk to the sand. While most calls involve minor disturbances, serious assaults have periodically drawn increased patrols. In this incident, police emphasized how the hands-free 911 call brought a quick response to an area with shifting crowds and multiple access points to side streets.
Jail records list Gutierrez at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with no bond. The case heads next to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office for a filing decision. A first appearance was held Friday, and a follow-up hearing is expected Monday. If prosecutors file as arrested, the charge is aggravated battery with a weapon causing great bodily harm. Additional filings could be considered after witness interviews and any review of cameras near the lifeguard towers and hotels along Collins Avenue, police said.
Tourists and workers filtered past the sand path Friday as patrol SUVs idled near the block. A hotel doorman said he saw officers moving along the strip after the arrest. A beachgoer from out of town, packing up a chair by a closed tower, said she learned about the case from an alert on her phone. “I didn’t realize it happened right here,” she said, pointing toward the waterline.
As of Friday night, Gutierrez remained jailed and investigators had not released a motive. Police said the next update is expected after Monday’s court session and the prosecutor’s charging decision.
Author note: Last updated January 9, 2026.