Berlin man assaults EMT, police officer in Shelburne

A man, who is wanted throughout Vermont for numerous acts of vandalism to motor vehicles along with assaulting a handful of law enforcement officers, needed just nine days to pick up new criminal charges after being released from custody in a deal struck by a prosecutor and defense lawyer in Washington County.

Micael Bizuneh, 34, most recently of Berlin, punched a female member of Shelburne Rescue in the face and then Shelburne Police Officer Caleb Casco was injured taking the suspect into custody shortly after 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 23, police said. There was one report the EMT was knocked unconscious.

The injuries came after Bizuneh caused substantial damage to a room at Harbor Place, a shelter for homeless individuals, Shelburne Police said.

Shelburne Police and Rescue were summoned Sunday to the shelter for a report of a man in need of medical or mental health assistance, police said. The caller reported the man had damaged property and may be injured.

Within seconds of making contact with the man, he punched the EMT multiple times in the face, and she had to be taken by South Burlington Rescue to the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Casco also was later transported to the hospital for evaluation, and both were eventually released.

Bizuneh denied any injuries, police said.

Police arrested Bizuneh on charges of aggravated assault on a protected professional, assault of a protected professional with bodily fluids, and felony unlawful mischief.

He was jailed for lack of $500 bail at Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town.

Bizuneh is due in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Monday.

Harbor Place sustained a significant amount of damage to one of its rooms. Bizuneh also kicked a cruiser, denting one of its doors.

A judge in Washington County on April 14 ordered Bizuneh released after he was found not competent to stand trial for a second time, according to the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus.

Bizuneh, formerly of Hartford, Conn., was released on an order of non-hospitalization.

Bizuneh had been facing charges in Chittenden, Washington, Caledonia, Addison, Bennington and Windham counties for reportedly damaging vehicles on purpose. Some of the larger cases included 50 damaged cars reported in Middlebury and 42 in St. Johnsbury.

Bizuneh also has been accused of punching a female police officer in Montpelier and assaulting a corrections officer at the prison in St. Johnsbury.

During a hospitalization hearing in criminal court in Barre, Washington County State’s Attorney Michelle Donnelly and Jack McCullough, Bizuneh’s legal aid attorney, submitted an order of non-hospitalization for Bizuneh. It was designed to address all the criminal charges Bizuneh was facing by having them dismissed.

Bizuneh had been held on $10,000 bail since February 2022.

With the state and defense reaching an agreement on the cases Bizuneh faced, Judge Kevin Griffin said he didn’t have much discretion to exercise.

The order called for the release of Bizuneh and the charges against him dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could be re-filed later.

Bizuneh said he planned to make his way to Newport once released. Somehow, he ended up in Shelburne, about 80 miles southwest of Newport.

Bizuneh is required to participate in treatment under the order and could end up hospitalized for up to 90 days if he does not abide by the order.

Earlier in his crime spree case, Bizuneh was found incompetent to stand trial by Judge Justin Jiron in St. Johnsbury. He based it on a report from Dr. John Hearn, a forensic psychiatrist.

The judge said Hearn determined Bizuneh suffered from schizophrenia, depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and was not competent to stand trial.

The doctor reported these issues prevent Bizuneh from being able to rationally understand court proceedings.