BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A Burlington repeat offender who police say has had over 1,800 brushes with the law, was back in court Tuesday to face his latest charges. While some say Michael Reynolds is a menace who should be locked away, others say prison is not the answer.
“I need methadone, I need to have transportation, I need to have a motel room right now,” Reynolds told WCAX on Tuesday.
The 47-year-old Burlington man has an extensive criminal history with 162 misdemeanor charges and 19 felony charges which have resulted in 48 convictions. He’s been in and out of the criminal justice system, oftentimes released directly back into the community on court conditions.
“Mr. Reynolds is struggling quite a bit and those struggles seem to be permeating in places which are causing certain public reactions,” said Vermont Superior Court Judge John Pacht.
Reynolds was arrested at the UVM Medical Center last month after police said he refused to leave the hospital and was trying to assault security guards. Police say after his arrest, dispatch notified them that Reynolds was involved in a burglary at a home in Burlington. One of the residents came out of the shower, heard a scuffling noise in one of the empty rooms, and found Reynolds. They say he went through their food, ate some of it, and then removed by the residents.
“This is a person whose behavior has habitually been unlawful,” said Burlington Police Chief John Murad. He says what’s being done for Reynolds isn’t working. “I do think that there are certain individuals whose recidivist, incorrigible behavior begs for incarceration, not necessarily to get at the root of that individual’s problems but to protect the public.”
But community advocates, who say Reynolds is homeless and suffers from mental health issues and addiction, don’t believe prison is the answer. “If someone has what is a severe mental illness, prison is probably the least therapeutic place for them to be. Maybe we’re safer but that’s not the right setting for Michael Reynolds and individuals like him,” said Mark Redmond with Spectrum Youth and Family Services. He says the state needs to invest in more mental health treatment and change laws to make it easier to hospitalize someone involuntarily.
“And it is a balance, right? People do have civil rights, but society also has a right to live in safety. So, we’re trying to balance both things and I think the pendulum is too far over in one direction.”
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George did not respond to a request for an interview but did issue a statement last week when asked about Reynold’s case. “A significant majority of his charges are not violent, so I’m not sure the public needs protection from him,” George said. “The public needs him to be given significant services and resources that we don’t currently have, so his underlying trauma can be truly healed.”
Reynolds will be back in court for a competency hearing in March.