Man hacked with machete in Leesburg dies, police say

LEESBURG, Fla. — A man has died two days after he was attacked by another man wielding a machete in Leesburg, police said.

Gary Mosley, 61, died at a hospital Saturday as a result of his injuries sustained during the attack Thursday, police said.

Police said they are working with the state attorney’s office to upgrade the charges against Carlos Reyes, who was arrested in the attack and charged with attempted murder.

Read: Man’s hand nearly severed in Leesburg machete attack, police say

Reyes is accused of attacking Mosley with a machete, nearly severing his hand, police said.

Police responded to a home on Georgia Avenue early Thursday where they said they found the victim lying in front of a home with severe lacerations on his head torso and left arm.

A witness told police he and Mosley were sitting in a screened-in porch playing cards when a man walked up from the driveway and tried to get into the home.

The victim and witness yelled at the man to stop, but said he continued to break into the house.

One of the witnesses sprayed the man with pepper spray from behind the screen door, and that’s when the man pulled out a machete and attacked the victim, according to a police report.

“He hit him in the torso, the head, the arm. He basically hit him all over the place,” said Leesburg police spokesperson Steve Rockefeller.

The suspect was gone when officers arrived, police said.

Jetheroe Jones said police found the bloody machete near a tree in his backyard.

"It's just a tragedy," Jones said.

Later in the day, the suspect’s wife called police when she heard about the incident.

She told officers that her husband, Reyes, came home “covered in blood” and was sweating as though he had been in come kind of altercation.

She said Reyes told her he had been attacked by a dog, then said he tripped over a fence.

She also said Reyes had become increasingly violent lately and had been doing drugs, including PCP.

Police said they found incriminating evidence in Reyes’ home, including bloody clothes.

Reyes was unable to explain why he went to the victim’s home, a report said.

He is being held in the Lake County jail without bail.

Cox Media Group