ST. CROIX – A man is facing charges of assault and mayhem for a machete attack on his mother’s boyfriend, who he claims was threatening to harm the family. 

According to court documents, on Wednesday morning at around 8:36, the 911 Emergency Call Center broadcast over police radio that a man was at the Juan F. Luis hospital, bleeding profusely. Officers were dispatched to the hospital, where they met the injured man. 

He told them that he had been arguing with his girlfriend about their minor son. The woman’s older son, Xavier Smith and his girlfriend took the boy for a drive, returning around 1:00 a.m. The boy’s father was upset at that turn of events, so he told police he left and went to his own residence. 

The man said he returned later that morning to break up with his girlfriend, and collect his car keys as well as some personal items. The conversation got heated, and he told police that he reiterated the end of the relationship, using a profanity for emphasis. 

As he was leaving, the man said that he saw Smith running toward him with a machete. He said he warned him to back off, and the two began to argue. The man said he once again expressed his disengagement from the family using strong language. At that, Smith is said to have swung the machete, catching the back of the man’s left arm. The injured man ran to his friend’s vehicle, and was taken to seek medical attention. 

JFL’s general surgeon told police that the man, who had a severe laceration to his left triceps muscle, would be taken into emergency surgery. He was later airlifted stateside due to the severity of his injuries. 

Meanwhile, police asked Smith for his side of the story. He said that he overheard his mother telling her now ex-boyfriend that his belongings were on the porch, but the man still came in and walked through the residence insisting that he search for his things himself. Smith told police that he was in the bathroom when he first heard the man threaten to kill the entire family, followed by what he believed were sounds of a struggle. 

Smith said that he first ran to grab his machete from his room before running outside to find his mother, covered with soil from the plant pots scattered on the ground, peeling herself off the wall. He again heard several threats of lethal violence from the ex, he told police, and admitted to striking the man with the machete. Smith told officers that he knows the man to carry a black handgun.

Ultimately, Smith was arrested and charged with mayhem, third-degree assault, and possession of a dangerous weapon during a crime of violence. Unable to pay his initial $7,500 bail as set by chart, he was remanded into custody to await his first court appearance. 

Although scheduled for Thursday, as of press time Smith’s case status is still listed as “awaiting hearing” on the public court docket.