Jim Guy
The Fresno Bee
FRESNO — A suspect and an officer were injured early Tuesday after police rushed to southwest Fresno on a report that a machete-waving man was threatening to kill a man at a lumber yard.
The 34-year-old suspect was put into an ambulance with facial bruises after a fight with multiple officers following a low-speed pursuit that ended at North Glenn and East Thomas avenues in central Fresno.
The suspect faces charges of making criminal threats and assault on police officers, said Sgt. Jeff La Blue.
The incident began about 6:40 a.m. on South Elm Avenue, where an employee of the business called officers about a man outside waving the 18-inch machete. La Blue said the man was shouting that the manager at the business had killed his wife, and he was there to kill the manager.
As police arrived, the man drove away, La Blue said. Officers followed as he ran several stoplights before arriving on Glenn at a dead end, then attempted to enter a house. The man initially put up his hands to surrender, but then began fighting five officers and waving the machete around. He was initially subdued with an electronic stun device, but continued fighting “very violently,” La Blue said.
The sergeant said police had not yet had an opportunity to find out whether the suspect’s wife was in fact deceased. The machete was recovered from the suspect’s car.