A drunken homeless man punched a Burlington restaurant owner in the chest after barging into the eatery and claiming he owned the place, according to police.
Michael Reynolds, 40, was arrested on a charge of simple assault after the incident Saturday at the East West Café at North Winooski Avenue and Pearl Street.
Reynolds also allegedly threatened to kill responding police officers and correctional officers at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, Burlington police said in a news release.
Police have made contact with Reynolds nearly 900 times since 2011, including 117 arrests — eight for felony crimes — resulting in 31 criminal convictions. He’s also been issued dozens of tickets for infractions such as public urination, trespassing and carrying an open container, according to police.
Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo told Seven Days in a story published Wednesday that Reynolds owes the city nearly $12,000 in fines. The article examines a proposal to create a criminal penalty for those who repeatedly commit civil “quality of life” offenses such as “public drunkenness, fighting and public urination.”
Unpaid violations affect an individual’s credit score — which is little deterrent for those with no income or assets.
“The lack of consequences is a root cause of what is an unfair burden on the rest of the community,” del Pozo told Seven Days’ Katie Jickling.
According to police, Reynolds was arraigned on the most recent charge and released on pre-trial conditions.
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This happens across the country. It’s not criminal issues, it’s mental illness for those who “slip through the cracks”, aka there is no support network for those who are mentally ill and have no family to contact. Seems like the new chief is barking up the wrong tree when it comes to this issue.
litebrite42- he could get the help if wanted it! I am sure he has State Ins, which pays for just about everything!
No, he can’t get help if he wanted it – that’s the problem. He’s too mentally ill to be stable mentally enough to self-regulate. I’m not sure people these days understand what mental illness looks like. It’s very sad! I feel very bad for him to have to be shuffled around. What should we do, strap mentally ill people like him to a chair and execute him?
“I’m not sure people these days understand what mental illness looks like. It’s very sad!”
Anyone spending time in downtown Burlington has a crystal clear conception of what mental illness looks like. Unfortunately.
Someone should double-check with Del Pozo, then. He seems to think “lack of consequences” is the problem. I think the man who assaulted someone has plenty of consequences hes suffering from in his mind and people don’t really seem to understand that. Mentally ill means illogical – not right in the head – and as a result it’s not personal, it’s a symptom of this man’s illnesses.
Mentally ill or just unruly; the guy can’t go around slugging people.117 arrests, eight for felony crimes… and they release him? This guy should not be on the street.
The Justice system in this state is a complete joke. Guess it’s going to take someone getting killed before this nut job actually gets locked up.
But, this is what you get in the world of political correctness. Everyone has to be treated equal, even if they are incapable of living on the street.
I don’t think it’s mental illness here sounds like he likes to drink which leads him into trouble I don’t know him but I bet get him off the booze , and then because of all the drinking treat with drugs , and he can get help people do it all the time and I had family members with mental illness r
They didn’t ever do any crime ever ,,, until the say he died at 75 and never hurt anyone
three words – Lock him up.
let this drain on society dry up in prison
for a nice long time –
i bet that would make him pretty unhappy – and do his liver a favor
it boggles my mind that he can be arrested 117 times and have 31 convictions
and he then assaults someone and gets released ! again
mental illness, alcoholism – who cares
he should not be on the street
there should be some punishment or consequences for his actions
releasing him sends a message that there are zero consequences to actions
Is Mr. Reynolds an example of the type of person where he, the state/city, and public would be better served by hiring someone to be his full-time guardian, and rent an apartment for them to live in? This has worked in many other place around the US. Read Malcolm Gladwell’s ground=breaking “Million Dollar Murray” to learn about the origins of this approach. http://gladwell.com/million-dollar-murray/
I know some will yell “Nanny State” back at me, but this solution is being used in plenty of Red stats, and costs less than incarceration, emergency room visits, police responses, and all the other costs our community is incurring with this fellow. The solution “lock him up and throw away the key” just costs more, period. With the flexibility in our Medicaid waiver, this should be explored, perhaps?
Tell you what, have him come at me or break into my home and your problem is gone!!!!!!!!!!
The scumbag was wandering the streets of Winooski this morning. Over a hundred arrests, he assaults somebody, and then goes free to walk the streets the next day. What’s wrong with this picture? Word is out that Burlington and Winooski are the place to be if you’re a scumbag, socially malfunctioning, sociopathic criminal. Unless some people wake up and start dealing with these people more firmly, the quality of life here is going to continue to get worse and worse.
Burlington and Winooski are places to be if you need help bec they volunteered and have been pressured to by other towns.
Having this many arrests for mostly non-violent crimes says to me that’s a huge indication of mental illness.
He might feel more willing to get sober if he saw a reason to. Maybe support and faith in his recovery process instead of holding things against him all the time.
There are a number of issues here. 1st and foremost is the man is an alcoholic. Nothing is going to change with regard to his drinking until either he is willing to do something about it, he is institutionalized, or he is dead. These are the simple facts. The availability of services has nothing to do with this nor is it a discussion about the lack of services in this state. The notion a man isn’t responsible for his actons because he is drunk or mentally impared doesn’t cut it. He’s not the victim here and a catch and release mentality of the courts obviously is flawed. To argue the cost of institutionalization is to great a burden on the taxpayers isn’t a sound argument in my eyes. Let’s total up what has been spent so far plus the cost to local businesses in damages and lost business by his presence.
What will be the state’s defence be should it be sued by someone over damages, injury or death at the hands of this man because he is a habitual offender allowed to roam the streets?
If he has had 31 felonies then what is he doing walking around loose? Or did the police chief get his numbers wrong? If it were anyone else they would be locked up for a long time!! But if he does have that many felonies then the laws need to be updated!
Being mentally ill does “cut it”.
Lemmie ask you all a question here –
What if you knew 100% that this man was beaten with a chair by his mother when he was six? What if you knew his entire family died in a fire? What if you knew he was sexually assaulted by his sister? What if you knew when he was born, his father told his mother “Throw that one back.”? What if you knew his mother threw him against a wall when he was 10 and spat in his face? Or that she regularly chased him with a knife around his house?
My point is – you don’t know. You DON’T know this man or what he’s about just by reading the rap sheet of him, or anyone else with a rap sheet. But every single statement I made has been said to me by others who are also homeless, too. It could be anyone. Yea – some people “buck up”. Other people aren’t. that. strong.
We don’t need to know his story to know that he deserves the same respect as anyone else. 31 felonies are NOT necessarily violent. Keep in mind there are two kinds of crimes – victim and victimless. Stealing, for example, is considered a victimless crime by law. The fact that there are many and they are victimless by definition simply screams mental illness that is not being dealt with.
Michael is very likely so strong that he’s been trying to manage his brain’s instructions by not hurting people and instead things – and this latest incident is a sign he’s losing even more grip.
How would you want to be treated if your family abused you and you were left in Michael’s position?
What would you want done for you?
Litebrite, please take your tears of compassion for this violent, dangerous man over to the caf owner who got harassed and then punched by this man in his own place of business. Or to any of the other people that he’s been violent with (which I’ve personally witnessed). Please take this violent, dangerous man into your house and give him the hugs that you say he so badly needs, until he finds his inner angel and is transformed. Please stop already with your speculative, psychological defense of this violent, dangerous man. And please stop lecturing the rest of us that we all just need to gather around him and “understand” him the way you do. Thanks.
I never said he needed hugs – I said he needs some friggin meds!
litebrite he does have family and he is supposed to be on medication but he does not take it.. he was normal up until a few years ago when a lot of his family got killed in a car accident and that is what got him where he is now. Unfortunately the state can not make him take his medication due to some state law and the mayor does nothing to help out transient people like he said he would in his campaign, he is worthless as well! But it is apparent that he does not want help with his issues. The court could order him to see a mental health worker but it won’t do any good if he doesn’t want help
litebrite42- I’m sorry. “…faith in his recovery process instead of holding things against him all the time”? “What “recovery process”? 900 contacts and 117 arrests since 2011 has to be some kind of record. I’ve known people who have suffered as much and still haven’t visited this kind of suffering upon others. Please don’t give him one more excuse to use as a crutch. The system isn’t perfect, but there’s help if he’ll have it. At this point, I’m more concerned about the people who have to pay through their encounters with his pain and rage. I’m not of a mind to hide all our homeless. Neither do I want to have to worry about being assaulted when I take my family downtown.
Lo and Behold, I was correct. Mike Reynolds does have a severe mental illness – schizophrenia. Not only was I correct, but ths ED of Spectrum contaxted the city council about this issue 2 weeks prior to his physical assault. The following article describing this was posted two days after this one.
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2017/08/25/advocate-transients-latest-arrest-exposes-holes-in-social-safety-net
Chief Del Pozo made a comment there as well supporting involuntary admittance so he can get back on his medication.
It’s very sad that not enough people take mental illness seriously enough. Mental illness is very real and is more often than not co-morbid with more than one illness and substance abuse.
I’d also like to add that if Mike is one of the worst cases present in Vermont when it comes to physical aggression, as someone not from Vermont, many of you might just be a bit spoiled. The users of drugs here are some of the most polite, nice, non-violent, approachable users I’ve ever seen in the country. Remember Burlington is transitioning into a much more city-like city. Crime, noise, late night shoppers, people speaking to themselves – these are hallmarks of any city. They will continue to increase until a future plateau is reached, and frankly, that’s not just cops not “doing enough”, it’s natural activity of a city.
I hope Mike gets the help he needs. Seven Days – keep us posted!
! thing I forgot to say was if he had 31 felonies, he would most likely be in jail and not walking the streets homeless! I think the police chief is mistaken as there is more than 1 Mike Reynolds that has been in jail if you check it out!!
The guy should run for Mayor or Governor