SABATTUS — A South Portland man accused in a weekend machete attack became enraged when another driver gave him the middle finger, according to a police affidavit.

Carlos Genoves, 52, was charged with aggravated assault, criminal threatening and threatening display of a weapon.

Police said Genoves cut another man’s hand and held a machete to his throat after following him to his home on Main Street in Sabattus. The two men had encountered each other while driving on Sabattus Street in Lewiston, police said.

The victim told investigators that Genoves had been driving erratically, prompting the victim to yell and display his middle finger. Following that altercation, Genoves followed the other man home, according to the affidavit. After the men argued, Genoves went to the trunk of his vehicle and retrieved the machete used to attack the other man.

The man, 28, suffered cuts to his hand and neck but did not require medical attention.

Police said the assault was witnessed by a third man who called for help when he saw the confrontation. That witness was able to provide police with the license plate number of the suspect’s car, according to the affidavit.

Police later tracked the car, a Honda Accord, to a home on Westbrook Street in South Portland. Sabattus police arrested Genoves at the home. However, a search of the home and car did not turn up the machete, according to the affidavit.

Genoves made an initial court appearance this week, but did not enter a plea to the charges. He was being held on $5,000 bail, although he was also given an option to pay $100 and enter into a pretrial contract. By late Thursday afternoon, he remained at the Androscoggin County Jail.

One man who knows Genoves described the alleged attack as uncharacteristic. He said Genoves is typically mild-mannered and a hardworking provider for his wife and children.