An argument that started in a Ten Museum Park elevator turned into an armed threat Thursday when a 31-year-old resident allegedly grabbed a rifle and pointed it at his neighbor in the hallway of the downtown Miami high-rise, according to police. Anthony Governale now faces a charge of attempted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and he was already out on bond from a separate December arrest involving accusations of racial slurs and battery on officers.
According to Local 10 News, Governale and his neighbor argued inside the elevator before walking out together on the 12th floor and continuing the dispute in the hallway. The victim reportedly told Governale they could physically fight if the two could not resolve the issue. Instead of a fistfight, police say Governale went back into his unit and returned holding an AR-15-style rifle, which he then pointed at his neighbor.
Governale disputed part of that account, telling officers he never pointed the weapon at the victim and describing it not as an AR-15-style rifle but as a Pistol Caliber Carbine, a long-gun platform that shares the modular look and controls of an AR-15 but fires pistol ammunition such as 9mm, per the same outlet’s report. The distinction matters for how the case unfolds at trial, since proving whether the rifle was actually aimed at the victim or simply held will likely hinge on hallway surveillance footage and witness accounts. Police officers arrested Governale at the scene, and he was booked at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, Miami-Dade County’s primary pretrial detention facility for processing felony arrestees, on Thursday.
A Bond Already on Thin Ice
Governale was out on a $2,500 bond at the time of the rifle incident, tied to a separate case stemming from a December arrest at the Palm Tree Club in North Bay Village. Records show he had been accused there of resisting arrest, public intoxication, and screaming racial slurs. The station’s earlier report on that case described a chaotic scene on the John F. Kennedy Causeway sidewalk, where his tirade forced vehicles to stop, according to WPLG Local 10’s December coverage, which noted he was released on a $12,650 bond following that arrest…