A 45-year-old Farmingdale man is facing a stack of felony charges after police say an argument with a 36-year-old woman on Colombia Street earlier in the day involved a boxcutter threat. Later, Sanchez allegedly chased a 21-year-old down the block with a machete and robbed a 15-year-old bystander. Nassau County police say nobody was hurt badly enough to require hospitalization, but the incident involved a 21-year-old and a 15-year-old and led to a multi-charge arrest.
According to the Nassau County Police Department, officers responded to a residence on Colombia Street in Farmingdale around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Detectives say Saul Sanchez had argued with the 36-year-old woman earlier in the day. Police say Sanchez brandished a boxcutter during that argument, threatening the woman and causing her to fear for her safety, before fleeing the scene on foot.
The confrontation didn't end there. As reported by Daily Voice, the 21-year-old man who showed up at the home afterward was the woman's eldest son, and he'd come specifically to help her change the door locks following the boxcutter threat. Police say Sanchez returned while the locks were being swapped out, struck the 21-year-old in the head, and broke his chain during the ensuing fight — a detail that explains the criminal mischief charge now on his record.
Machete Chase Down Colombia Street
From there, police allege Sanchez retrieved a machete from his vehicle and chased the 21-year-old down the street. During that chase, he allegedly threatened a 15-year-old boy and demanded the teen hand over his black bag. The teenager complied, police say, and Sanchez fled again on foot after taking it. The 15-year-old called 911, and officers located Sanchez a short time later, arresting him without incident.
The Nassau County Police Department's Eighth Squad, which holds investigative authority over Farmingdale and neighboring communities in eastern Nassau County, according to the same Daily Voice report, led the case that produced the charges. Colombia Street itself sits in Farmingdale within the Town of Oyster Bay, a residential corridor in eastern Nassau County near the Suffolk County border, per that outlet's account.
Charges Carry Serious Prison Exposure
Sanchez is charged with robbery in the first degree, two counts of menacing in the third degree, criminal mischief in the third degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. Under New York Penal Law § 160.15, robbery in the first degree is a Class B violent felony carrying a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 25 years in prison for a first-time offender, according to Tilem & Associates. Probation is not a sentencing option for that charge.
The weapon possession counts carry their own weight. Criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree is a Class D violent felony punishable by two to seven years in state prison, per the Law Offices of SRIS, P.C. The criminal mischief charge tied to the broken chain is a Class E felony, which applies when property damage exceeds $250 and can bring up to four years in prison, according to Saland Law. The two menacing counts are Class B misdemeanors, defined under state law as intentionally placing someone in fear of death or physical injury, carrying up to 90 days in jail, per guidance published by NYC.gov.
Arraignment Set in Hempstead
Sanchez was scheduled for arraignment on Thursday at First District Court, located at 99 Main Street in Hempstead. That courthouse serves as the central venue for initial felony arraignments, bail determinations, and preliminary hearings for police arrests across Nassau County, as Hoodline has previously reported.
This is not the only recent Nassau County case involving a machete-related felony charge sent to that same courthouse. In Uniondale machete case coverage from last month, a 35-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder after a dispute turned into a fatal machete attack, and he too was arraigned at First District Court. Nationally, the FBI's violent crime rate declined to an estimated 327.6 offenses per 100,000 residents in 2025, down from 362.9 the year before — though federal officials note that county-level dynamics can diverge from broader trends.
