THE MAN’S NAME is being held out of the press because he’s technically a victim. But anyone who’s seen the suspect’s mugshot might beg to differ.

When the man who Cook County (Ill.) Sheriff’s deputies said tried to mug someone in Chicago’s southwest side, he apparently picked the wrong “someone” — a mixed martial-arts fighter.

The Courier-News reports that 24-year-old Anthony Miranda was arrested Friday after his would-be victim turned the tables on him, gave him a particular thrashing and then keeping him detained until authorities arrived. Miranda now faces a slew of charges that even includes firing off his weapon, which hit him in the foot, by the way, according to the Courier-News.

Miranda approached his victim’s car and demanded cash, which the MMA man handed over. The newspaper reported that Miranda wasn’t satisfied with the $30 he’d been handed, so he demanded his victim get out of his car. He then pointed a gun at the trained fighter’s chest, which is when his robbery went awry.

The Courier-News reported that Miranda was quickly subdued and even wound up shooting himself in the ankle during the fracas.

This wasn’t the first time that Miranda has been on the wrong side of the law. The Chicago Tribune reports that Miranda is on parole for several residential burglaries in 2007, and that he also served time for 2005 convictions.

The Courier-News reported that while he was in the midst of his ass whupping, Miranda even begged to be let go because he had a baby.

My Take: Even though Miranda hasn’t been convicted of this current crime, his long list of previous convictions pretty much paints the picture of a career criminal. I don’t know if the “I have a baby” claim is true, but for the sake of argument, let’s assume that it is. Even if you try to assume the most “honorable” reasons for Miranda to be out mugging people (he needed the money for baby food, diapers, etc), he’s still out there threatening the lives of others. As a father myself, it takes a lot for me to wish someone to lose their kids. But I can’t see how this man is fit to be anywhere near a child. We previously ran a story about a would-be mugger who was treated with kindness by his victim in an effort to get him to give up his criminal ways. I can only hope this severe beating might have the same effect on this Chicago criminal. If he really is a dad, he’s got a lot of changing and growing up to do before he’s fit to be anywhere near his kid.

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Read the Courier-News story here: http://bit.ly/tmSmej

Read the Tribune story here: http://trib.in/tm7icg