A man was stabbed and hospitalized after wishing a stranger “Merry Christmas” on a Miami-Dade Transit bus during the afternoon of Christmas Day, Miami police say.
Reynaldo Ortega, 73, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and remains in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Friday afternoon, records show. He has pleaded not guilty.
Around 12:20 p.m. on Christmas, a man boarded the bus near Southwest Second Avenue and Southwest Second Street downtown and was speaking to a friend inside when Ortega entered their conversation, according to an arrest report. He told Ortega “Merry Christmas” and tried to shake his hand, but Ortega swatted it away and began arguing with the man before pulling out a knife…