A 31-year-old Lake Elsinore man accused of attacking a relative with a chainsaw and then threatening a deputy with it pleaded not guilty Wednesday to assault with a deadly weapon and other offenses.
Agustin Enrique Arana Chavez was arrested last week following a standoff with Riverside County Sheriff’s Department personnel in the 400 block of Lookout Street, near Pottery Street.
Along with the original assault count, Chavez is charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and brandishing a weapon not in self defense.
He was arraigned Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Judith Clark, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Jan. 22 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
The defendant is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Byrd Detention Center.
According to sheriff’s officials, just before 11 a.m. on Jan. 7, patrol deputies were called to the Lookout house to investigate reports of a disturbance and encountered Chavez inside the residence, allegedly wielding a chainsaw and knife.
The sheriff’s department alleged the defendant was “threatening family members,” and court documents indicated he was principally focused on one person in particular, though the man’s identity was not disclosed.
“The suspect exited the residence while armed with the chainsaw, but failed to follow commands and re-entered the home,” according to an agency statement.
All of the occupants safely escaped the property, after which a crisis negotiator engaged Chavez in a nearly two-hour phone conversation that didn’t produce results, culminating in sheriff’s SWAT members forcibly taking him into custody. One deputy, identified in court records only as “M.O.,” was momentarily in danger, though specific details weren’t provided.
The defendant wasn’t injured, nor did anyone else require medical attention.
There was no word on what might have triggered the alleged attack.
Chavez has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.