COLUMBIA, Connecticut — Upon witnessing two men with machetes stumble out of the woods at Recreation Fields in Columbia, a witness was alarmed enough to call state police on Monday afternoon.
According to a state police release, troopers were dispatched to the recreation area on Hennequin Road around 3 p.m. The men with machetes left the park in a vehicle before state police arrived, but the caller gave troopers a description.
A responding trooper saw a vehicle matching the description on Route 66 in Columbia and reported that the driver failed to maintain his lane, according to the release. A traffic stop and an on-scene investigation revealed that the vehicle was the same one identified by the caller.
State police said the two men individually told troopers they were fishing in a nearby river for crawfish and had machetes to protect themselves from snakes.
“There were articles in the vehicle which were consistent with their fishing explanations,” the release said.
According to state police, the two men were Benjamin Deleon-Chach, 43, and Fabian Simaj-Tum, 47.
State police said that during the traffic stop, troopers determined Deleon-Chach, who was driving the vehicle, was showing signs of impairment. He did not perform the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing to standard, according to the release.
Both men were arrested and charged with second-degree breach of peace, and Deleon-Chach was also charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, failure to maintain proper lane and operating a motor vehicle without a license, state police said.
They added that Deleon-Chach and Simaj-Tum were both released on bond and are scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on July 31.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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