Third man arrested in Upper Keys incident

A third man was arrested Wednesday in the early morning Dec. 25 melee that occurred on the 200 block of Burton Drive in Tavernier that left four people hospitalized.

Jorge Alberto Hernandez was charged Wednesday with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

His arrest follows the arrest of two Homestead men who charged immediately following the incident. Jonathan Estarly Rivera Enriquez, 19, and 25-year-old German Javier Rivera Hernandez — Jorge’s nephew — were each charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and burglary with an assault or battery on the day of the incident.  

The incident is still under investigation and more charges as well arrests could be pending.

Deputies arrived at 210 Burton Drive about 4:20 a.m. regarding fight involving a machete. They arrived to find multiple intoxicated people who stated men from the 400 block of Burton Drive — one of them armed with a machete — attacked them. They stated one woman was cut in the neck and another man was cut on the head. Those two victims were later airlifted to Kendal Regional Medical Center in Miami with non-life threatening injuries. Two other victims with less serious injuries were treated at Mariners Hospital in Tavernier.

Multiple witnesses identified Jonathan Estarly Rivera Enriquez as the primary aggressor. A machete was recovered from the scene.

Witnesses also stated they saw Jorge Hernandez pick up a rock above his shoulders and chase several victims — females among them. One of the witnesses stated he picked up a broken beer bottle, which led Jorge Hernandez to drop the rock.

Warrants were issued for Jorge Hernandez’s arrest and he was booked into jail Wednesday morning.

The investigation is still ongoing, but Detectives believe an argument over a female or issues stemming from a previous relationship may have spurred the incident.