Man Wielding Hatchet Arrested In Cedar Ridge For Battery

TCSO booking photo

Sonora, CA – A man armed with a hatchet was arrested for battery after attacking another person, but not with the ax.

Tuolumne County Sheriff’s deputies raced to the Cedar Ridge area recently after a report of a man armed with a hatchet that was causing a disturbance in the area of Estralita Drive near Canyon View Road. The victim also reported that the suspect had hit his vehicle with the hatchet, breaking the vehicle’s windows, and had hit the victim in the face with a can of bug spray.

When deputies arrived, they contacted the suspect, 32-year-old Coleman Smith, on the driveway of the residence, who took off running into the home. Deputies chased and caught up with Smith, who tried repeatedly to pull away from deputies. Smith was eventually hand-cuffed.

The victim estimated that Smith had caused an estimated $5,000 in damage to the vehicle. Smith was arrested on charges of felony vandalism, battery and resisting arrest.