(PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL)– A 32-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly attacked a woman with a sword and a machete.
The incident occurred at an apartment around 6:41 a.m. on Oct. 8.
Authorities say Joseph Cortijo and his significant other were drinking when Cortijo became extremely violent:
“Both parties were drinking and began to have a verbal argument. During this argument, he stated several times ‘I’m going to kill you and the argument escalated to him striking her in the face with a closed fist several times. He armed himself with a machete and held the machete to her head, and said ‘I’m going to f_____g kill you ’ and swung it in her direction multiple times. The victim said she was afraid for her life. When she started to leave, he blocked her from leaving, standing in front of the door, and tackling her into the bed several times.”
According to the report, the victim was eventually able to escape and contacted the police.
Officials say they eventually made contact with Cortijo around 7:04 p.m. after he barricaded himself inside of the residence and refused to come out.
Minutes later Cortijo began making threats to harm themself:
“At 7:22, he stated, ‘if you come in I’ll smoke myself.’ He then made several more statements that if ‘we’ (PBSO) attempted to come in the home, he would kill himself and statements of suicide by cop.”
When the SWAT team was eventually able to get Cortijo out of the apartment, he tried to flee the scene but could not get away.
At 11:08 a.m. officials brought Cortijo into custody.
He has been charged with false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and battery.
His bond has been set at $62,000.