Deputies: Man arrested for slashing dog with machete By FOX 35 News Staff Published article NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - A New Smyrna Beach-area man was arrested after deputies say he slashed a dog multiple times with a machete. Deputies said they arrested Richard Nelson on Friday on charges of animal cruelty and providing false information to law enforcement. Investigators say Nelson lied about using self-defense against the dog that he said attacked him. Officials said the incident was reported on July 9 in the backyard of a home on Jungle Road in New Smyrna Beach. The dog's owner told investigators that Nelson was in the backyard when he attacked her dog that she had just let outside.