Repo men have a dangerous job – and one of them was reminded of it Tuesday night in Newhall.

A local man was arrested on an assault charge after he allegedly swung a hammer at a tow-truck driver who was in the middle of repossessing his vehicle.

The victim and witnesses led deputies to the suspect, said Deputy Josh Dubin of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

“The suspect is accused of swinging a hammer at the victim several times after he was confronted by the driver of a tow truck,” Dubin said.

Vicente Marcial, 36, of Newhall, was booked at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on an assault with a deadly weapon charge at 11:30 p.m., after Marcial, a construction worker, allegedly fought the repossession of his truck.

After the victim latched Marcial’s truck onto his rig about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night at the 23600 block of Newhall Avenue, the tow-truck driver went to contact Marcial for an ignition key, Dubin said.

There was an alleged dispute over payments for the car, at which time, Marcial allegedly grabbed a sledgehammer from the back of his own truck and started swinging it at the driver, Dubin said.

A pair of witnesses also gave a similar report to deputies at the scene.

“Good witnesses are ones who call (the Sheriff’s Station) immediately and cooperate,” Dubin said. “We urge residents not to become involved if they see any kind of crime taking place, but dialing 255-1121 when you see a crime helps us serve our community.”

Marcial was booked at the station on charges of 245a1 of the California penal code, at 11:30 p.m.

He is due in court Thursday, and was in custody Wednesday night in lieu of $30,000 bail.