BLOOMINGTON, IN (WXIN/CNN) - An Indiana man says he took an ax to a suspected drug user’s truck because he’s tired of the drug problem in his neighborhood.
Dante Jewell looked down from his balcony Thursday and saw a suspicious truck.
"Then I saw a needle go into the driver's arm, and I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, this has gone too far, too much, too many times. I’ve got to deal with this,” Jewell said.
The original plan was to warn the suspected drug user, but the confrontation quickly went from verbal to violent.
"Then as soon as I said the cops, the driver was just triggered and went from, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy' to 'What the –" and swung at me with his hand, which had the needle in it,” Jewell said.
Jewell then grabbed his own weapon, an ax.
"I took a swing at his truck. I hit the driver's side mirror. I think that came off,” Jewell said.
Strikes two and three were to the windshield, and another was to the headlight. The busted headlight cover is still in the parking lot.
The blows were enough to break Jewell’s ax.
"I will admit I may have overreacted. I probably should've just scared them into his vehicle and then left it alone at that point, but when you see a used needle coming your way, I mean, it becomes about survival,” Jewell said.
Police say the driver of the truck reported the incident and met them just a few blocks from Jewell’s apartment complex.
At first, the man told officers Jewell came at him when he was just reading the newspaper. He then allegedly changed his story, admitting he was doing drugs and had thrown out the syringes before he called police.
When officers searched the truck, they didn’t find any drugs or paraphernalia.
Jewell says he’s called the police over and over for drug deals going down and dirty needles dumped around his place. The problem is a personal one for Jewell, who used to be a counselor for Narcotics Anonymous.
"I just wasn't having it, especially since I know people in this unit. Some people have kids. There are families that are trying to get by here without any trouble. This has become too much of a nuisance,” he said.
Jewell says he wants the “horrible truth” of drugs to stay away from his home.
"I'm confident they're not stupid enough to come back. Yes, I'm confident I won't see them again,” he said.
Police have not filed any charges in the case, but an investigation is ongoing.
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