A DeKalb man was charged with attempted murder after a witness told police he attacked another man with a machete over missing money shortly after midnight Thursday, court records show.

DeKalb police said the attack occurred at an Edgebrook Drive apartment where both Joshua M. Boyer, 44, and the victim lived together with two others, according to DeKalb County court records.

Boyer was charged on Friday with attempted first-degree murder, a Class X felony, records show. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

During a Friday afternoon pretrial release hearing, prosecutor Heather Darsie of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office said Boyer had “disregarded human life.” Darsie argued Boyer should be denied release pending trial.

Because he’s also charged with one count of hate crime, a Class 3 felony, Boyer – if convicted on both charges – could face an extended sentence on an attempted murder conviction. He’s also charged with aggravated domestic battery and two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery, records show.

Police said Boyer attacked the victim while yelling racial slurs and threatening his life, according to court filings.

Boyer was seen nodding his head as Darsie read what police wrote in court filings about the attack. But he appeared to shake his head and mutter under his breath when Darsie repeated the racial slurs police alleged he said to the victim before and during the attack.

“This level of persistent, unabated violence has no presence in society,” Darsie said, as Boyer shook his head.

Police said Boyer admitted to injuring the victim with a machete, according to court filings.

The man who was attacked was able to escape the apartment, though he suffered a severe wound to his right forearm, police said.

Officers later interviewed the man at the hospital, court records show.

The man and another witness, a woman, told police that Boyer threatened to kill someone after learning he was missing some cash.

“Joshua noticed his money was missing tonight and he thought someone took the money, so he took ‘the knife’ and slammed it on the table saying he would give everyone thirty seconds to find his money before someone got stabbed in the head,” police wrote in court records.

The woman witness told police the victim was injured so severely that she could see his bone where he’d been attacked.

A DeKalb police detective wrote in a synopsis filed with the court that the victim “felt like he was losing too much blood and he was going to die.”

When interviewed by police, Boyer alleged that the victim attacked him first with a baseball bat, records show. Boyer told police he hid the machete behind his back and then swung it at the victim, striking him once.

Friday afternoon, Associate Judge Stephanie Klein ordered Boyer detained without release, ruling in favor of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office. She also ordered Boyer not to have contact with the victim and witness.

Boyer appointed public defender Mary Baccam as his defense attorney.

Boyer’s next court date is June 18.

While arguing for Boyer to be denied pretrial release, Darsie said the offense he is charged with was “ferocious and dangerous,” as well as “frightening and harmful.”

This story was updated at 2:52 p.m. May 29, 2026, with reporting from a DeKalb County court hearing. Further updates could occur.