A Leesburg man was arrested after he reportedly used a machete during a drunken altercation with another man.
Police responded to a battery at the Candlelight Motel, located at 1306 S. 14th St., at about 12:39 a.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The caller advised that a male was bleeding, and a female in the background said he was attacked, the report said. A second call was received wherein it was stated “they hurt him because he was trying to hurt them,” referring to the later identified 61-year-old James Lowery Arthur.
The first officer on scene observed a large crowd of people yelling, the report said. He separated the crowd and located the victim who had multiple lacerations on his front left shoulder, right eyebrow, left ear and left thumb.
While still separating the crowd, other officers arrived to render aid to the victim. They were told by subjects in the crowd that the victim was struck by a machete. Arthur then approached one of the officers and told him where the machete was placed. He led that officer to his room and gave the weapon to him, the report said.
The report noted that the victim pointed at Arthur stating “he tried to kill me” multiple times. A short time later, EMS arrived to transport the victim to UF Health.
At that point, law enforcement spoke to the first witness. He explained both the victim and Arthur were intoxicated, and the victim began antagonizing Arthur with racial slurs. Arthur then struck the victim in the face multiple times with a closed fist. The victim’s wife pushed Arthur away, who then instructed his girlfriend to get his machete, the report said.
Once Arthur had the weapon, the victim grabbed a nearby chair to defend himself. Arthur swung the machete at the victim multiple times. The first couple of strikes hit the chair, and the victim dropped it while Arthur was still approaching him to strike with the machete, the report said.
The first witness also had video footage of the incident, the report said. The footage revealed Arthur and the victim arguing. During this, the victim’s wife pushed Arthur before the victim was able to grab her to remove her from the situation. While moving her, Arthur approached the victim from behind and struck him multiple times with a closed fist.
It shows Arthur’s girlfriend already having the machete in her possession, but she never made any threats or swung it at anybody. She then placed it on the ground next to a chair and tried to stop the fight. While attempting to stop the fight, the victim pushed Arthur off of him. Arthur then trips over his wife and they both fall to the ground. Arthur stated, “get my knife” and she replies, “it’s right next to you.” The victim was still trying to separate himself and his wife from the situation, the report said.
The frame cuts out and comes back in with Arthur holding the machete over his head in a threatening manner. Upon seeing this, the victim grabbed the chair to defend himself. Arthur swung at the victim multiple times and struck the chair. The victim left the chair on the floor and backed into the hallway where the first witness was recording. Arthur then stood up and approached the victim with the machete raised over his head. He swung it at the victim and struck him. He swung it again but was stopped by the first witness, the report said.
After reviewing the footage, law enforcement spoke to the second witness, Arthur’s girlfriend. She stated that she and Arthur were outside their motel room drinking with the victim and his wife, and the victim had too much drink while smoking weed. At that point, the victim became argumentative and wanted to fight Arthur. She told the victim to go lay down and to not start any disturbances. The victim then grabbed Arthur’s chair and pushed them both to the ground. The victim began to fight her and Arthur. At no point did the second witness mention the machete, the report said.
Arthur advised that a physical altercation occurred between him and the victim, at which point he grabbed a machete and struck the victim with it. When asked to explain his side of the story again, he stated he never struck the victim with a machete and that the victim cut himself, the report said.
As a result of the evidence and statements made, Arthur was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was transported to the Lake County Jail with bond set at $5,000.
