Gardener Gone Wild?

A Laguna Niguel, CA, man who complained about yard work was attacked by his gardener with a weed wacker, authorities said.

When the resident deflected the wacker attack, authorities say, the gardener took to his hedger, firing it up at his truck before the resident barricaded himself inside his house on the 30900 block of Belle Maison early Thursday. 

"It started with a verbal disagreement between the homeowner and the gardener," said Lt. Gary Strachan of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. "The homeowner apparently didn’t like the work that the gardener was performing and told him."

Francisco Calderonfarias hit the homeowner on the shoulder with the motor side of the weed wacker twice, Strachan said.

"He didn’t injure him, but he did strike the homeowner," Strachan said. "The homeowner tried to stop him by kicking him, and they toppled to the ground."

The homeowner’s wife witnessed the men rolling around, and yelled: "Let my husband up," Strachan said.

The gardener then ran back to his truck, grabbed his hedge trimmer and turned it on, Strachan said.

"The man ran into his house and locked the door behind him," Strachan said. "While they called police, the gardener was already cutting up plants with the hedge trimmer outside."

After deputies arrived, Calderonfarias, 54, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism, Strachan said.

"There were no major injuries, but there were a few minor scrapes during the initial scuffle," Strachan said.