By Eric Stevick Herald Writer
LAKE STEVENS — A Lake Stevens man was arrested for investigation of first-degree assault after striking an acquaintance with a machete.
Police were called to the 8900 block of 10th Street NE on Friday after a report that a man was bleeding after being hit with the blade. He was treated at a local hospital for a cut to his arm before being released, officials said.
An officer found a machete in the bushes near the intersection of Frontier Circle W and 88th Drive NE.
Based on witness accounts, police soon were able to identify the suspect, 18.
They tracked him down at his grandmother’s home where he was sitting in a recliner chair.
He allegedly admitted hitting the victim whom he described as a friend he hadn’t been getting along with lately.
The suspect told police he brought the machete with him for protection.
He told police that the victim threw a bottle in his general direction before he struck him with the machete.
“I am not going to back down from him so I swung and hit him with my machete,” he allegedly told police. “After I hit him with it, I chased him with the machete while he was running home.”
The suspect said he obtained the machete in a trade with the victim for an older machete.
When the police officer arrested the suspect for investigation of first-degree assault, he allegedly said, “Oh, cool.”
In Everett District Court on Monday, a judge doubled the bail amount for the suspect to $20,000.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
