Rostraver Township man suffers machete wound during dispute over grass clippings Suspect claims he acted in self-defense
BELLE VERNON – A Rostraver Township man was sliced in the arm with a machete Sunday during a dispute with his neighbor over the dumping of grass clippings near their property line, court records allege.
District Judge Charles Christner arraigned the suspect, Victor J. Gregorini, 66, of 225 Skyline Drive, on charges he attacked Carey Delmer with the weapon about 4:10 p.m. after the two got into a fight while both were performing yard work, police stated in the affidavit.
Delmer accused Gregorini of swinging the machete at his head, at which time Delmer placed his left forearm in the air to defend his face, the court record shows.
Police said Delmer suffered a substantial laceration to his forearm that required treatment at the scene and at a local hospital. Delmer said he was dumping grass clippings on a farm bordering his residence when he was confronted by Gregorini, who accused him of encroaching onto his property. He said he kept dumping the grass clippings after telling Gregorini he wasn’t on the man’s property.
Gregorini allegedly used a shovel to throw some of the grass at Delmer, police stated in the court record.
An officer later went to Gregorini’s residence, where he found him sitting on his front porch.
“Gregorini stated he asked Delmer to not dump close to his back property line, and Delmer told him he did not care about it,” the officer noted in the affidavit.
He also told police Delmer harassed him and blew grass at him with his tractor, threw grass in his face and threatened to dump grass on him, the record indicates. Gregorini also said he was knocked backward by a bushel of grass clippings thrown by Delmer, and that he swung the machete as he fell.
“Gregorini stated he feared for his life and did not have the strength to fight Delmer due to medical conditions,” the officer stated.
Christner sent Gregorini to Westmoreland County Jail on $10,000 bond after he was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He was later released from jail after posting bond.