News

Cops: Contractor went after driver with a machete

Thomas Jonas Lopez-Giron

A Riverhead contractor who went after a cement truck driver with a machete during a dispute at an East Marion construction site faces assault and weapons charges, said Southold police.

The driver was not seriously injured, police said, although the machete reportedly cut through the man’s jacket and left marks on his arm.

Police said the contractor, Thomas Jonas Lopez-Giron, 35, of Riverhead grew angry Wednesday when the driver refused to back the cement truck onto the Route 25 job site for fear of getting stuck in the rain-soaked mud. The driver said Mr. Lopez-Giron then threatened him with a hammer and came at him with a machete. The driver told police that Mr. Lopez-Giron also repeatedly struck the cement truck with the machete.

The driver reportedly spotted Mr. Lopez-Giron at Main Street, Riverhead, deli Thursday morning and call the Riverhead police, who detained him until Southold police arrived.

Mr. Lopez-Giron was charged with a felony count of second-degree attempted assault and misdemeanor counts of second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was released on bail and is to be arraigned in Southold Justice Court in June.