Man accused of chasing teens with meat cleaver

A Vancouver man made a first appearance in Clark County Superior Court on Monday for allegedly chasing a group of teenagers with a meat cleaver after they attempted to cut through his property.

Dwight C. Moses, 41, faces allegations of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon stemming from Sunday’s incident.

Police responded to a report of a disturbance near 29th and R streets after a teen said he was being chased by a man with a meat cleaver. Kace Blackburn said he and two other friends tried to take a shortcut through the property at 2914 R St. to get to a nearby alley. He said they walked up the steps in the front yard and were contacted by a man sitting in a chair, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.

Blackburn told police that the man, later identified as Moses, said they couldn’t cross through his property, so they all turned around and left. He said they went around the block and accessed the alley from 29th Street. However, as they walked down the alley, Moses reportedly walked into the alley from his property, carrying a large meat cleaver, court records said.

Blackburn said Moses told them to go away and began charging at them with the meat cleaver. The trio began running from Moses, and Blackburn ran into the front yard of a stranger’s house and asked her to call 911, the affidavit says.

Police responded to the home on R Street and observed two people in a hammock with a large meat cleaver lying on the ground a few feet away, court documents said. Moses reportedly told police he had confronted three “kids” who tried to cut through his property but denied having the meat cleaver in hand when he chased them, according to court records.

During Moses’ hearing on Monday, Judge Derek Vanderwood appointed attorney Nick Wood to represent him.

Moses’ bail was set at $15,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.