Man Allegedly Attacks Neighbor With Klingon Sword

When Trekkies attack?

A dispute over trash between two neighbors took a turn for the bizarre after one of the neighbors allegedly attacked the other with a rather unusual weapon.

KREM 2 is reporting that a Spokane, Washington man is facing assault charges after a neighbor claims he attacked him with a Klingon sword.

50 year-old Carlo Morris Cerutti stands accused of attacking his neighbor after his wife, Joyce, had accused their neighbor of putting trash in their trash can. The neighbor told police he had gotten into argument with the wife about the trash on Saturday.

Joyce Cerutti said that their next door neighbor was evicted and was throwing his trash in their garbage can. Joyce said she confronted the neighbor, only to have the incident escalate.

"I turned around and he chucked the bag at me and hit me in the back and then he started throwing garbage all over my yard," said Joyce.

KREM reports that the neighbor said that Carlo Cerutti came rushing out of his house with the Klingon sword and started swinging. Court documents said the neighbor put his hands up and blocked the blade from striking him. The neighbor claims that while he was able to wrestle the weapon away from Cerutti, he fell off his porch.

The neighbor then called 911. Documents said when police arrived on scene Cerrutti was taken into custody for assault and was later booked into the Spokane County Jail.

Joyce Cerutti said that her husband never actually attacked the neighbor with the sword.

Klingons are a race of beings that exist in the Star Trek franchise. Within the fictitious world, they are known to have a genetic predisposition toward hostility, the Star Trek website says.

A Klingon "sword of honor" is called a  bat'leh, and these weapons are preferred by Klingon warriors who are martial arts masters, according to the site.