Man Waving Machete After Road Rage Incident Arrested: Wolcott Police

WOLCOTT, CT — A Wolcott man accused of waving a machete out of a car window was found with 40 glassine baggies of a powdery substance in his possession late Thursday morning, according to police.

In a news release, police said a sergeant with the department was patrolling the area of Nichols and Wolf Hill roads around 11 a.m. when he was flagged down by a distressed driver.

According to police, the driver yelled to the sergeant "this guy behind me is crazy, he has a machete."

The sergeant then spotted a man, later identified as Robert Berardi, 67, of Wolcott, in the driver's seat of another vehicle waving a machete out of the window, police said.

When Berardi exited his vehicle, he began waving the machete in the air while approaching the sergeant, according to police.

The sergeant ordered Berardi to drop the machete, which he did, then arrested him and secured the weapon, police said.

Berardi was found to have 40 glassine baggies containing a powdery substance in his possession, as well as a prescription bottle containing pills other than what was on the label. The powder was found to be positive for the presence of fentanyl, according to police.

After further investigation, officers learned Berardi began following the first driver as a result of a road rage incident that began on Wolcott Road, police said.

Berardi was waving the machete from his vehicle in a threatening manner and continued to follow the driver, who was driving to the Wolcott Police Department for safety when the sergeant was flagged down and intervened, according to police.

Berardi was charged with second-degree breach of peace, second-degree threatening, illegal possession of weapon in motor vehicle, carrying a dangerous weapon, possession of controlled substance, failure to keep narcotics in original container and possession with intent to sale narcotic.

He is currently being held on a $50,000 bond, according to police.