Friday, June 6, 2014
Officers Investigate Allegations Of Assault With Machete
Law enforcement officers were asked to investigate Thursday when a man reported he had been assaulted by another man wielding a machete.
Deputies with the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department were called to Fire Tower Road around 3:00 p.m.
The complainant, age 33, reported that he had come to the location to speak with his ex-girlfriend, then called her to tell her he was waiting on the porch at her residence.
He told deputies that she advised him he needed to leave her house because she and her boyfriend were on their way home and her boyfriend would be angry if he was there.
The complainant said that he left, walking along the roadway and that the boyfriend "came driving up." He said that he, "Got out of the car with a machete and started hitting him with it...grabbed his phone as he was trying to dial 911 and smashed it on a nearby rock, then took his phone with him and left."
Members of the Emergency Medical Service rendered aid for several minor cuts the complainant had sustained to his the left side of his back and left ankle. He declined transportation for additional medical care.
A nearby resident told deputies that he had seen two men fighting in his front yard. He said one man was armed with a machete and was swinging it at the other. He told deputies that he had opened his door and ordered them off his property and that the men complied.
The deputy spoke with the ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend. The man told him that he had not been armed with a machete during the confrontation, nor did he take the victim's phone.
The couple said that the victim had broken into their home through a rear door, took a beer from the refrigerator and drank it, and left the beer cap lying on their bed.
The boyfriend said that the complainant had initiated the confrontation by pulling a knife on him. He said he ran from him and that they, "Ended up in a scuffle" in the neighbor's front yard. He said he had no weapon and did not know how the complainant sustained his injuries.
No charges were issued at the time reports were filed. Investigation in the matter is currently on-going.
