Machete Man Charged Monday
A Billings man is behind bars after threatening people with a machete. 29 year-old Joshua Laforge was charged in Yellowstone County Justice Court with two felony assault with a weapon charges Monday. Laforge got into an argument with his girlfriend over the weekend in the presence of others.
When she got agitated over finding her cell phone, Laforge produced a machete and demanded someone give the woman her phone back. Bystanders intervened, telling him to leave, but Laforge pushed a woman to the ground while holding the machete in a threatening manner. Another man lunged at Laforge in the woman’s defense, and they began fighting. Laforge swung the machete, which the man blocked with his hand, resulting in a large cut before officers arrived, then transported them to separate hospitals. Laforge was booked into the Yellowstone County Detention Facility.