BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Burlington Police say the man taken into custody Monday after a five-hour standoff with hostages has had hundreds of run-ins with law enforcement and should have been in prison.
Police say Monday’s ordeal started after officers attempted to arrest Tyshawn Lee, 23, of Winooski for violating conditions of release and identity theft.
“He produced two cutting instruments. He held one to his own throat, he threatened the officer with another,” said Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad.
Refusing arrest, Murad says Lee led officers on a foot chase before going into T. Ruggs Tavern. About a dozen people were inside at the time but most of them got out. “But two were stuck inside with Mr. Lee as he began to barricade the location,” Murad said.
Nearby schools went on lockdown as police surrounded the building on the corner of Elmwood Avenue and North Street.
Court paperwork says throughout the standoff, police had contact with Lee and were watching him through surveillance video inside. They say although he never hurt the man and woman he was holding, he broke a glass and threatened them. “There were certainly times where they didn’t feel safe,” Murad said.
As the hostage situation neared the five-hour mark, the Vermont State Police Tactical Services Unit was staging outside. That’s when police say Lee started making Molotov cocktails. “He created a number of them and was apparently about to use them,” Murad said.
That’s when the hostages made their break, throwing a stool at Lee. The woman was able to escape and the tactical team secured the male hostage and arrested Lee, who was brought to the hospital after sustaining minor injuries. But Murad says the violence continued at the hospital. “He proceeded to assault a police officer and a medical care worker,” he said.
On Tuesday, customers returned to the bar, even with yellow police tape still in the area. “It was terrible, it was horrifying,” said Peter Deng, who works nearby. “It wasn’t okay. I thought this thing would happen in developing countries, I never knew a thing like this would happen in a country called America.”
Lee’s arraignment was postponed Tuesday after corrections officials said he was not ready to appear before a judge.
Murad says he’s thankful for his officers and the departments that responded but he’s also dismayed over why Lee wasn’t already in prison despite his extensive record. “Why the courts haven’t been able to hold him, I’m uncertain but I’m certainly frustrated by it. This is an individual who should not have been out in our community. He is a danger to others and a danger to himself,” Murad said.
Lee is expected to appear in court Tuesday to answer to the nine charges he racked up on Monday.
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