A homeless man was left with serious injuries after a brutal attack inside a Miami-Dade County jail — an incident now raising serious questions about whether it could have been prevented and highlighting a growing shortage of mental health resources for inmates.
Surveillance video shows Henry Diaz entering the unlocked door of Lau Flower Creation in northwest Miami-Dade just after 5 a.m. on April 11. Days later, Diaz would be left in a coma with a brain injury.
“Honestly, from the moment it happened, I felt responsible. I left the door open — if I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have entered,” said Vladimir Rivero Gonzalez, who owns the shop.
Rivero Gonzalez said his wife first noticed the store’s cell phone was missing. After calling police, they reviewed surveillance footage and spotted Diaz inside.
“I went outside and spoke with nearby workers. They recognized the person and told me, ‘That’s the homeless man who hangs around here,’” he said.
When Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies arrived, Diaz reportedly told them he was born in 1933, which would make him 92 years old. His actual age is 51. According to the arrest report, “due to the defendant’s state of mind, this detective was unable to question…” him further and ended the interview.
Rivero Gonzalez said they did not want Diaz prosecuted.
“When investigators arrived, we told them we didn’t want to press charges. We believed he had mental health issues and needed help,” he said.
Diaz was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on charges including burglary and petty theft totaling $656. But his brief stay in jail ultimately turned into a near-death sentence, not by a judge or jury, but allegedly at the hands of a fellow inmate.
According to an arrest report, the attack happened April 14.
Investigators say 28-year-old Trenton Williams told them he felt Diaz, his cellmate, “had been mentally attacking” him. Williams admitted to striking Diaz “without cause,” grabbing him and slamming him to the floor.
Diaz was left unconscious and airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, the report states.
Trenton Williams and Henry Diaz
“From what I’ve read, it was a pretty violent attack – particularly, someone had to go to the hospital,” said Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez.
Martinez, whose office represents both men, could not discuss specifics, but said the severity of the incident stands out.
“It is rare to have the type of situation that we just had. That level of violence is rare,” he said.
While the violence may be unusual, the circumstances leading up to it are not.
Both Diaz and Williams had been deemed incompetent to proceed in the criminal justice system, according to court records. That designation typically requires transfer to a state mental health facility.
Eight days before the attack, a court warned there was a “substantial likelihood that in the near future” Williams could “inflict serious bodily harm” on himself or someone else. A judge ordered him immediately transferred to a secure residential treatment facility for the mentally ill.
But that transfer never happened.
“That’s supposed to happen within 15 days of the court finding that. That is not happening in Florida. There’s not a single client right now that is found incompetent and that they’re going to a state hospital even within two months,” according to Martinez, “There’s a shortage in beds.”
According to Martinez, in January 2025, 31 inmates represented by his office had been waiting longer than the legally required 15 days for transfer. By April, that number had more than doubled to 64. It has since dipped to 51 in May, but that’s still higher than it was 15 months ago.
“We’re still, statewide, between 600 and 700 beds short. This is a critical need. At a minimum, we need to reduce the number of people on the wait list,” Martinez said.
Even with the backlog, another major question remains: why were two inmates deemed incompetent housed together?
“I do not have enough information to pass judgment on whether those two should have been together,” Martinez said. “Knowing the mayor who’s in charge of the jail and knowing the director, I am sure that they are undertaking a serious review to figure out what failed here and to figure out how do we make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
In an email to NBC6 Investigates, the public affairs manager for Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation Department, Juan Diasgranados, wrote:
“The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCR) is currently investigating an inmate altercation that occurred on April 14, 2026, at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The incident remains under active review in accordance with our established protocols and procedures. At this time, to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide additional details or comment further.
MDCR remains committed to maintaining the safety, security, and well-being of our staff, inmate population, and community. The department also recognizes the ongoing challenges associated with caring for individuals with serious mental illness within the criminal justice system and supports broader efforts to expand behavioral health treatment capacity, including the County’s proposed mental health facility.”
Trenton Williams has pleaded not guilty.
Henry Diaz’s current condition is unclear. A doctor’s letter from late April filed in described his prognosis as “very poor.”