A 23-year-old man is facing mayhem and assault charges after police say he slashed another man's face during an argument over drugs at Southwest Community Park, leaving the victim with a gash that required 17 stitches to close. Officers arrested 23-year-old Jorge Granados at the scene after finding him with a machete in his backpack.
The incident occurred at Southwest Community Park on Wednesday. The 54-year-old victim had been preparing food with friends in the park when Granados approached the group and asked for drugs. The victim refused.
The victim felt a blow to his back before being hit in the face. The blow left him with a deep wound on his right cheek.
Victim Hospitalized, Suspect Arrested
The victim was taken to a local hospital, where his cheek wound required 17 sutures. Granados was arrested at the park.
A search turned up a machete in Granados's backpack. He now faces multiple charges stemming from the encounter: assault with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon likely to cause great bodily injury, mayhem, possession of drug paraphernalia, and a probation violation.
What California Law Says About Mayhem
The mayhem charge Granados faces falls under a state statute that, per California Legislative Information, applies when a person unlawfully and maliciously deprives someone of a body member, disables or disfigures it, renders it useless, or commits specific acts involving the tongue, eye, nose, ear, or lip.
This is not the first time a machete has turned up in a Santa Rosa public space. In a separate incident reported by CBS News in 2024, a 34-year-old man was sitting on a bench in the 2700 block of Santa Rosa Avenue when a verbal argument escalated and the suspect allegedly struck him in the head with a machete before fleeing; that victim was treated at a hospital and released. Detectives in that case identified the suspect as 20-year-old Lucas Coleman, who was booked on suspicion of attempted murder.
Another separate case, detailed by The Press Democrat, involved 19-year-old Rueben Cabrera, who was arrested last year after reportedly chasing people with machetes through Andy Lopez Unity Park. And Hoodline has previously reported on a 2020 attack in which a teen was stabbed and a friend punched by a group of at least three people at a park in southwest Santa Rosa.
No additional details about Granados's response to the charges, legal representation, or his case's status in court were included in the department's release.
