The New Port Richey Patch Crime Blotter details charges made recently recently in our coverage area by the or All the information was taken from law enforcement records.
2/21/11 Nelson Moreno, 48, of New Port Richey, was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Moreno was arguing with a neighbor over a dog when, deputies say, he pulled a knife on the 23-year-old man and threatened to kill him.
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Moreno told deputies that he was "attacked" by his neighbor's dog when he returned home from school and grocery shopping at 6 p.m. The dog nipped at him and bit his pant leg, Moreno told deputies.
Moreno told the dog's owner, Don Harold Stevens III, what happened, and Stevens called him a racial slur used to describe Hispanics, a deputies' report states. When Stevens threatened him, he was "pissed," and he went inside and got his knife, Moreno said.
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Moreno first said he didn't show Stevens the knife but then changed his story, saying he held the knife and yelled, "Bring it over here," a report states. Moreno said Stevens then went inside his own home and got a machete.
Stevens had a different version of the story, saying that Moreno started swearing at him before he went and got the knife, according to a report.
Stevens told deputies that Moreno told him: "I've been in the military for 21 years, and I know five ways to kill you quick."
Moreno, reports state, also told Stevens he was going to "skin" him. Moreno's parents went outside and defused the situation, a report states. No one was injured.
Moreno's parents backed up their son's story, saying Stevens flung racial slurs at him.
Moreno told deputies he never feared for his life. He was released from the Land O' Lakes Jail Monday after posting $5,000 bail.
