A man wearing a Darth Vader mask frightened Gas Company workers Tuesday by pounding on a wrought iron fence with a machete, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials said.

Deputies responded to a petty-theft call around 10:30 a.m. after the workers accused the unidentified man in his 20s of picking up an item from their truck in the 7770 block of Danby Avenue, Pico Rivera Station Sgt. Raymond Cardenas said.

“(The man) took a rubber mallet from the back of (Gas Company) truck and said he thought it was nice and expensive,” Cardenas said. “They said to put it back so he put it back and took off. A few minutes later, he came back stood about 100 feet away from the workers with some type of machete in his hand.”

The man, who was standing on his property where he lives with his mother, was wearing a Darth Vader mask while banging the long blade on the wrought iron gate, Cardenas said.

“He was doing Kung Fu moves or some type of moves like with a light saber,” he said.

The man went back into his house and deputies were called to the residence.

Deputies interviewed the Gas Company employees and interpreted the incident as an assault with a machete, but after further interviews, they determined no petty theft or assault had taken place.

Cardenas said the man’s neighbors are aware of his strange behavior while wearing the same mask, but the sergeant was not aware of previous issues at the house.

Deputies, a sheriff’s helicopter, and the department’s Mental Evaluation Unit attempted to make contact with the man, but were unsuccessful.

“Our policy is that he may be 5150 (involuntary psychiatric hold), and we are not going to make entry into the house to use force on a person who is mentally ill,” Cardenas said. “We stood down and backed off. We had a phone number, called, and no one answered.”

The Mental Evaluation Unit tried locating the man in their system, but nothing came up under his name, Cardenas said.

The man never came out of the house and units left the residence around 11:45 a.m.

Deputies were unable to get a hold of the man’s mother, but are planning on following up with her.