Lynn man charged for assault with machete

LYNN – A Lynn District Court judge ordered a Lynn man held on $500 bail with potential for revocation Monday after he allegedly assaulted a 21-year-old woman with a machete and a butcher knife and then threatened to kill her, according to an Lynn Police report.Police responded around 2 p.m. Saturday to a disturbance call on Park Street where Franklin Castano, 41, was allegedly having an argument with his girlfriend, according to the report.The argument may have stemmed from another man putting his arm around the woman during her 21st birthday party the night before and Castano becoming jealous, according to the report filed by Officer Daniel Landry.A witness told officers she saw Castano go into a closet and pull out a “large black sword,” referred to by police as a machete, and that he “stated that he would kill her.”The woman added that after a few moments, Castano went to the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife, then began waving it around as he continued to threaten her life, according to the report.Landry said he observed a rug burn on the woman?s cheek, a fat lip and scratches and red marks on her neck during his interview. She told him a restraining order wouldn?t help her because “(Castano) is going to kill her.”Police charged Castano with domestic assault and battery, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and threat to commit a crime. He is due back in court on March 1.Both the woman and Castano were involved in a domestic dispute in Salem in December 2010, according to Lynn District Court records, when Castano was arrested and the woman was summonsed, both on charges of domestic assault and battery.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].