CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — A Cartersville man is facing charges after police said he picked a fight with two neighbors and left them with stab wounds and bad scratches.
Police were following up on a disturbance report on July 3 at 1 a.m. at a home along Courrant Street. An officer said they saw three people standing by the corner of Courrant Street and MLK Jr. Drive that were all holding sticks, which they dropped as soon as they noticed police approaching, according to an arrest report.
Two of the people said they were attacked by the man -- he said the two people attacked him, records read.
The man explained to the officer that he believed the two other individuals had stolen two of his dogs a few days ago, clarifying this was a continuation of a confrontation from earlier and that he was merely defending himself, the arrest report details.
According to police, one of the victims, a woman, was sitting on a porch when the man approached her asking about his dogs. He also tried to apologize "for coming after her with his cane last date," the arrest report reads. He then got upset with her and pulled out a small axe and began to cut her, documents note. She screamed for help until another person arrived - the two fighting off the man with nearby pieces of wood.
"They had just finished fighting when I drove past them," the officer said in the police report, adding that the man also pulled out a knife during the altercation.
Police said the woman had several cuts on the left side of her body and an abrasion on her left arm. She had other deep cuts on her back and believed she had broken a finger, according to the report.
The other person said the man had attacked him in the past and continued to harass him. When he intervened in the initial fight, he noticed the man stabbing the woman with items from a tool bag, and he was struck by the man's belt. Police records show the man's left eye had "busted capillaries" and looked disheveled.
Police found the toolbox bag, a small hatchet and box cutters as well as a small bag with a clear crystalline substance.
The man is now accused of two counts of aggravated assault and possession of methamphetamine.
Cartersville Police did not say if the dogs were found.
