LANCASTER COUNTY — A Lancaster man has been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and terroristic threats after police say he pulled a machete from his pants and brandished it at another person during a confrontation at the Manheim Auto Auction, where he and the victim were employed.
Reinaldo Lazaro Depres-Hernandez, 52, of the 100 block of South Queen Street, was charged Tuesday by Northern Lancaster County Regional Police, who were called to the auction to investigate the report of a weapons violation at 10:29 a.m., according to the criminal complaint affidavit.
According to police, Depres-Hernandez became angry at the victim over a joking term the victim and other coworkers were using, allegedly feeling that the joke was directed at him.
The victim told police he thought the matter had been sorted out when he talked to Depres-Hernandez and explained the term was being used at Depres-Hernandez’s expense.
But on Tuesday, police say, Depres-Hernandez approached the victim while the victim was working on a car at the auction, expressing anger over the joke. As he approached the victim and another coworker, the victim reported, he pulled a machete from his pants and brandished it at the victim.
Police say the victim and the other coworker attempted to flee, but collided into Depres-Hernandez, causing Depres-Hernandez to drop the machete.
The victim told police he was afraid that Depres-Hernandez would have “killed or hurt” him if he hadn’t dropped the weapon when they fell to the ground.
