SPRING HILL, Fla. — The need for a shower led to a series of events ending with a man unable to use or move his left hand after being hit by a machete, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say on June 15 they were called to a home on Tarrytown Drive to investigate a battery that happened the night before.
Speaking to the man injured in the attack, deputies were told the man returned to the home at 10 p.m. the night before to take a shower when he found several people "having a gathering."
One of those people was Justin Couch, 25, who is accused of beginning an argument with the man "for no reason" before the two took the argument outside.
Once outside, Couch pulled out a machete and approached the other man in an "aggressive manner" telling him he needed to leave and could not return to the house to get his wallet and cellphone, according to a release.
Deputies say the man insisted on going back inside and that is when Couch began hitting him in the arm and leg with what the man believes was the flat side of a machete.
Then, things escalated.
Couch then swung the machete at the man's face, missing it, but hitting him in the arm, causing him to pass out from severe pain, according to the sheriff's office.
Once awake, the man also told deputies he went to a home on Stillwater Avenue in Spring Hill knowing Couch would be there. Couch then took the man to a second home where an "unknown friend" took him to the hospital.
Couch is facing an aggravated battery charge and his bond is set for $10,000.
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