Gardener Gone Wild?

Belmont Shore Editor's Note: We found this at another Patch site and thought it struck a cautionary chord: respect the hedger.

A Laguna Niguel man who complained about yard work was allegedly attacked by his gardener with a weed wacker, authorities said.

When the resident deflected the wacker attack, the gardener allegedly took to his hedger, firing it up at his truck before the resident barricaded himself inside his house in the 30900 block of Belle Maison early Thursday. 

"It started with a verbal disagreement between the homeowner and the gardener," said Lt. Gary Strachan of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. "The homeowner apparently didn’t like the work that the gardener was performing and told him so."

Francisco Calderonfarias, the gardener—who was holding the weed wacker—turned it on, and hit the homeowner on the shoulder with the engine side twice, Strachan said.

"He didn’t injure him but he did strike the homeowner," Strachan said. "The homeowner tried to stop the gardener by kicking him and they toppled to the ground."

The homeowner’s wife witnessed the fight, and yelled: "Let my husband up," Strachan said.

The suspect then ran back to his truck, grabbed his hedge trimmer, and turned it on, Strachan said.

"The homeowner was able to run into the house and lock the door behind him," Strachan said. "They called the police, but outside, the gardener starting cutting up plants with the hedge trimmer."

After deputies arrived, Calderonfarias, 54, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism, Strachan said.

"There were no major injuries, but a few minor scrapes happened during the scuffle," Strachan said.