Machete-wielding man who tried to steal lawn chairs fought off by woman with garden hoe

A man from Bingham, Maine, was arrested on Sunday after allegedly threatening a woman with a machete when she confronted him as he was allegedly stealing lawn chairs from her property. Dwight Nathan Hart, 64, is charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and criminal trespassing, according to Chief Deputy James Ross of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office. The woman, whose name was not released, told police that she saw a pickup truck pull into her yard at around 6:15pm, Ross said.

“A male got out, who was Mr. Hart, and he started taking her lawn chairs,” Ross said. He said the woman confronted Hart with a garden hoe and told him to put the chairs down. The two did not know each other, Ross said. They got into an argument. When the woman went to take the chairs out of the back of the truck, Hart pulled a large machete out of the truck and started swinging at her, Ross said. “He actually hit the hoe several times,” Ross said.
“The deputy actually saw machete marks on the hoe handle.” The woman was able to take the chairs back and Hart left, but not before the woman wrote down his license plate number and gave a description of the vehicle to police, Ross said. Deputy Wilfred Dodge of the sheriff’s office responded to the call and was able to locate Hart at his residence. Dodge was assisted by other members of the sheriff’s office and the Maine State Police.
There were no serious injuries, although Ross said the woman did hit Hart with the hoe handle. Ross said the property was posted against trespassing, and Hart admitted to having seen a “No Trespassing” sign. “I don’t know what prompted him to take the chairs, whether it was a crime of opportunity or something else,” Ross said. “The victim said she had never seen him before.” Hart is being held at the Somerset County Jail on $500 cash bail.