Two Coral Springs men arrested after allegedly confronting couple with machetes
Coral Springs, Florida – Two Coral Springs men were arrested after police said they confronted a couple in a parking lot while armed with machetes during a dispute that quickly escalated, according to an arrest affidavit.
Aaron Gallegos Ortiz, 43, and Pedro Raymundo, 44, both of Coral Springs, were taken into custody on August 9 following the incident near the 10700 block of Northwest 45th Street. The case began with a dispute involving a woman, a man and two men who were sitting inside a green van, according to the Coral Springs Police Department.
Police said the woman involved in the incident told officers that she had already had a verbal confrontation with the two men the day before. During that earlier encounter, she reportedly asked them to leave the area.
According to the affidavit, the woman told police the men became belligerent and began yelling in Spanish. She also told investigators that one of the men had been involved in another incident with her several months earlier.
The situation escalated on August 9 when the couple returned to the area. Investigators said the victims told police they backed their vehicle into a parking space behind the green van.
What happened next led the couple to call police.
According to the victims’ account, the two men got out of the van carrying machetes and walked toward their vehicle in a threatening manner. One of the victims told officers that Gallegos Ortiz raised a machete above his head as if he were preparing to swing it.
The second man, identified as Raymundo, was also allegedly holding a machete, which the victim described as being pointed toward the ground.
Faced with the confrontation, the couple drove away from the area and contacted 911.
When officers arrived and began speaking with the suspects, police said Gallegos Ortiz offered his own account of what had happened. He reportedly told officers that the victims had reversed their vehicle toward the van and that he got out after seeing what he believed was a firearm.
The affidavit later provided additional details about his account to detectives.
According to police records, Gallegos Ortiz told investigators that he had been sitting inside the vehicle when he saw the victims reverse toward them. He said he then exited the van while holding a machete because he believed a firearm had been pointed in his direction.
Police also said Raymundo appeared to be heavily intoxicated when officers encountered him. Several open containers of Modelo beer were reportedly found inside the vehicle.
The weapons were also part of the investigation. Officers said one machete was visible when they arrived at the scene. A second machete was later found during an inventory search of the vehicle before it was towed.
The discovery of the weapons supported the police account that both men had been carrying machetes during the confrontation, although investigators also documented the suspects’ version of events.
The affidavit states that Gallegos Ortiz was taken for medical clearance following the incident. Afterward, police said he spoke with a detective in Spanish and made a statement concerning the accusations against him.
According to the affidavit, Gallegos Ortiz allegedly told the detective that if he had done what he was being accused of, he would have killed the victims.
The statement was included in the arrest affidavit as investigators detailed the events surrounding the confrontation.
The case appears to have grown out of tensions that had already been present between the people involved. The woman told officers there had been a verbal dispute the previous day and that she had previously asked the men to leave the area. She also described an earlier incident involving one of the men.
Police have not indicated that anyone was physically injured during the parking lot confrontation. The information provided in the affidavit centers on the alleged threats involving the machetes and the couple’s decision to leave and call authorities.
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Following the investigation, Gallegos Ortiz and Raymundo were arrested and taken to the Broward County Main Jail.
The incident remains a criminal case, and the allegations described in an arrest affidavit are accusations rather than a finding of guilt. The defendants are entitled to due process as the case moves through the court system.
The confrontation serves as another example of how a dispute in a parking area can escalate rapidly. In this case, according to investigators, what began as an argument involving people near a green van ended with two men allegedly approaching a vehicle while armed with machetes and a couple fleeing the scene to contact police.
Investigators documented statements from the victims and suspects, the presence of the machetes and the circumstances surrounding the arrest. The case will now proceed through the Broward County court system following the men’s transfer to the county jail.
