Machete-Wielding Man Fatally Shot by BSO Identified

The identity of the machete-wielding man who was shot and killed by a BSO deputy has been released by the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Homicide detectives say Deosaran Maharaj, 51, was the man who allegedly threatened a woman with a machete and was later shot and killed by BSO Deputy Paul Yesbeck after he fled from the officer in his pickup truck.

Maharaj died at the scene where he was shot Sunday evening.

See also: Machete-Wielding Man Shot and Killed by BSO Deputy Is Under Investigation

According to the BSO, a woman approached Deputy Yesbeck just before 8 p.m. Sunday to tell him a man had threatened her with a machete.

She pointed toward a white Chevy Silverado parked outside the Marathon Gas Station at Hammondville Road and NW 31st Avenue. Maharaj was then spotted getting into the pickup and leaving the gas station. He pulled out of the parking lot and drove off without turning on his headlights. Yesbeck gave pursuit.

According to BSO, Yesbeck tried pulling Maharaj over in the 300 block of Northwest 31st Avenue. At that point, officials say the deputy advised that shots had been fired.

At least one witness said Maharaj had gotten out of his Chevy Sliverado.

Homicide detectives say Maharaj apparently ignored Yesbeck's continued commands to get on the ground and to show the deputies his hands. That's when detectives say Maharaj instead walked back over to his truck and began searching for something.

At that point, detectives say Yesbeck felt threatened. That, along with Maharaj's failure to comply to the commands, forced Yesbeck to fire multiple shots, one of which was the fatal hit. The white Chevy Silverado sputtered off the road and ran into a palm tree, its bed filled with coconuts.

Detectives on the scene say they found a machete inside the truck. Maharaj apparently used it to chop up coconuts, which he would then sell.

According to records, Maharaj has a criminal history that includes charges of stalking in 2005 and an aggravated battery charge in 2013.

Detectives are continuing their investigation.

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