KANE — An East Smethport man has been accused of threatening people with a machete and strangling one person Friday night.
Mark A. Carlson, 45, was arrested Sunday and arraigned before District Judge Richard Luther, who
He is charged with strangulation and aggravated assault, both second-degree felonies; two counts of terroristic threats, both first-degree misdemeanors; three counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of simple assault, all second-degree misdemeanors; disorderly conduct, a third-degree misdemeanor; and summary harassment, according to court records.
Kane-based state police reported that at 7:50 p.m. Friday, they were dispatched to 20 Water Ave. in Keating Township for a domestic dispute involving a weapon. Carlson had fled the scene when police arrived.
The alleged victims related to police that Carlson threatened to kill them with a machete and strangled one of them, police stated. According to a criminal complaint in the case, Heather Carlson, 45, told police that Mark Carlson had been drinking alcohol all day and had threatened to kill her daughter, Jada Priest, 23.
She said Mark Carlson got violent and began breaking items inside the house, then grabbed a machete. While holding the machete, he threatened to kill Heather Carlson and Priest. She told police she got between him and her daughter, at which point he pushed her against the furnace, then grabbed her by the throat with his left hand and squeezed until she was unable to breathe, court records stated.
She told police that while this was happening, Mark Carlson was swinging the machete with his right hand. She was able to free herself, and trapped him inside a bedroom, allowing herself, Priest and a one-year-old infant to escape the residence, court records stated.
Priest told police that she was in fear for her life during the incident, the records read. The machete was found in an adjacent garage, and was seized by police.
Carlson is in McKean County Jail in lieu of $85,000 bail, and he is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Thursday.
This is the not the first time Carlson has been accused in a domestic incident.
On April 6, 2017 — exactly one year before Friday’s alleged incident — Carlson pleaded guilty in McKean County Court to one count of simple assault for allegations that on Jan. 14, 2017, he choked a woman after a verbal altercation.
He was sentenced April 27 for the prior case to a term of 41 days to 18 months in McKean County Jail with credit for 46 days of time served.
