Machete-wielding homeowner slashes face of man who broke into his home, Texas cops say

A homeowner used a machete to fight off a man burglarizing his home early Wednesday, Texas cops say.

El Paso police said the homeowner awakened around 4:15 a.m. to glass breaking in his home, according to KTSM. When he went to investigate, he saw a man outside his home with a metal rod breaking windows, the TV station reported.

Armed with a machete, the homeowner told the intruder to leave, the El Paso Times reported. When he refused, they got into a fight and the homeowner struck the man in the face with the machete, the newspaper said.

The suspect, 22-year-old Carlos Esteban Villaescusa, fled from officers before being apprehended in a neighbor’s backyard, CBS 4 reported. Police said he also trespassed into a second home on the block and broke a window in another home.

Villaescusa was hospitalized with serious wounds, and will be taken to a local jail when he is released, KVIA reported. He faces charges of burglary, evading arrest, criminal mischief and criminal trespassing.

This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Machete-wielding homeowner slashes face of man who broke into his home, Texas cops say."