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Miami woman called mail carrier a racial slur and tried to run her over, police say

Sofia Saric, Miami Herald on

Published in News & Features

MIAMI — A Miami woman called a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier a racial slur and tried to hit her with her SUV, police said.

The carrier was delivering mail around 4:25 p.m. Tuesday on the 1000 block of Northwest 18th Place when she was allegedly confronted by 34-year-old Lourdes Maria Portugues.

Portugues’ child went up to the carrier to collect the mail while Portugues was standing by the front door, according to an arrest affidavit by the Miami Police Department. Portugues yelled at her child not to speak to the mail carrier, calling the woman a racial slur, police said.

Portugues grabbed a hose and started spraying the mail carrier, who called police.

Portugues got inside her Lincoln Nautilus SUV and sped toward the mail carrier, who moved out of the way, police said.

Portugues is accused of trying to hit her with the SUV two more times. Several witnesses and the victim ran toward the sidewalk to avoid being hit, police said. The incident was captured on video surveillance.

She eventually parked her SUV and yelled, “I’m going to shoot you. I have a gun inside my house,” police said.

 

A witness told officers that Portugues went into her room and started to put bullets in a gun, police said. When officers went inside the home, they found a pellet gun and rounds.

Portugues was arrested on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with prejudice. She was being held Wednesday at the Miami-Dade Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, jail records show. Her public defender, Krishtine Loaiza, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comments.

Two years ago, police were called to the same address for an alleged domestic-battery incident involving Portugues.

She was accused of grabbing one of her family members in a chokehold, according to an arrest affidavit. A witness told police the family member was screaming “Me va matar” (“She’s going to kill me.”).

But the charge was dropped, court records show.


©2026 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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