Midlothian man recalls being attacked by man with machete

MIDLOTHIAN, Texas - Police arrested a Midlothian man for allegedly attacking a neighbor with a machete over the weekend.

Donnie Radabaugh says he was just trying to protect his family Saturday from a man armed with a machete when he was injured.

Several neighbors say Gerry Santiago was acting erratically all day Saturday and was walking up and down the street wrapped in a blanket and yelling towards the sky.

“It freaked me out. I didn't know how deep it was,” said Rocio, the victim’s wife. “I didn't know if he had to go to the hospital. It was just sad.”

The Midlothian couple says they had let their 10-year-old daughter stay over a friend's house located two doors down. Around 8:30 p.m. that friend's father called them to say a neighbor who lives between the two families was tapping on the kid's window with a machete.

Donnie says he confronted Santiago who was trying to blend in with the fence.

“I walked up to him and said, ‘What are you doing scaring our kids?’ And as soon as I did it, he was like boom and just started swinging that thing,” Donnie recalled.

Donnie says he was able to push Santiago off of him.

Later that night, Midlothian police located and arrested Santiago who was hiding in the woods nearby.

As Donnie was showing a FOX 4 crew where the blade sliced him, Santiago's older brother walked over and started arguing with the couple.

As Santiago’s brother was walking back home, his mother came out screaming and claimed her son didn’t intend to hurt Donnie.

“He wasn't even aiming,” she said. “He just turned around to see what was going on.”

Santiago is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Court records show he has had a handful of convictions for drug possession. The Radabaughs say they intend to file for a protective order.