BARRE, Vt. (WCAX) – After a week-long manhunt, ending in a dramatic standoff, Barre city officials are searching for solutions to the rise in crime.
On Saturday night, the Barre City Police Department, along with Vermont State Police and multiple agencies, arrested Devin Hallock, 22, on N. Main Street in Barre.
He was previously wanted for an incident where he crashed a car into a Market 32 in Berlin, sparking a week-long manhunt for him.
He was found in Barre Saturday, where he ran off and was later found at a home on N. Main Street. He went onto the roof of the home and refused to surrender to police. He eventually came down and was arrested.
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Hallock’s dad spoke with WCAX Sunday, pleading with the State of Vermont to get his son some help.
“Yes, Devin did do wrong whatever there. I do feel he should be held accountable for what he has done, yes,” Bryant Hallock, Devin’s father, said. “The way they are going about it, and stuff like that there. They are going the wrong way about it.”
Bryant says his son has a history of drug use and mental health issues.
“If you do things wrong in life there, you have to pay the consequences,” Bryant said. “But as a child or whatever, as being my child there. I know there that, Devin needs help.”
In light of the recent crime uptick, and the response to Hallock’s arrest, the city has decided to hold a public safety forum for the community.
In the last year, officials have seen a rise in retail theft, aggressive panhandling, drug and alcohol use, and disturbances. According to police, the crime is coming from a group they see over and over again; they say Hallock is one of them.
“Just our own agency we have had between thirty, fifty, sometimes eighty contacts with them,” Barre City Police Chief Braedon Vail said. “If you look at statistics with them dealing with other local agencies. Such as Berlin, Barre Town, and State Police, some of them have upwards of 130 to 150 police contacts.”
Now, Barre officials want to explore a public conduct ordinance to see if that could help alleviate problems in the future.
“Basically, what it does is create some additional enforcement measures in [highly] sensitive areas,” Nicolas Storellicastro, Barre City Manager, said. “For an example, it would create a buffer that you can’t pan handle in 50 feet of an ATM.”
The meeting will be held on the 2nd floor of Alumni Hall, starting at 5:30 p.m., on Monday the 13th.