NEWPORT — The Claremont man accused of firing hundreds of rounds from his Hanover Street apartment during a daylong standoff with police on Thursday was charged in a similar situation in Maine a decade ago, authorities confirmed, but the charges didn’t stick.
Michael Burns, 55, was ordered held without bail this morning on four charges of felony reckless conduct with a deadly weapon following an arraignment at Sullivan County Courthouse. Burns was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of simple assault, and one misdemeanor count of criminal threatening stemming from an Aug. 12 fight on Sullivan Street.
Burns pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Police said Burns started firing shots from his apartment in a residential neighborhood as early as 5:20 a.m. on Thursday, and after a day of negotiations over a bullhorn and a “shelter-in-place” order that kept nearby residents in their homes, he was taken into custody by 2:30 p.m.
Burns was wearing no clothing at the time of his arrest, according to Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway.
The incident Thursday wasn’t Burns’ first run-in with police that involved an hourslong standoff and reported nudity.
He was arrested on a terrorizing charge following a six-hour standoff with police in Waterboro, Maine, in May 2008, according to a report at the time from the Waterboro Reporter.
The newspaper reported that authorities were called to Burns’ residence in Waterboro at the time to respond to “reports of a naked man running around the neighborhood, allegedly threatening to shoot his neighbors and burn their homes.”
A county police lieutenant told the newspaper that when officers arrived, Burns “ran back into his home and allegedly threatened deputies.” The report did not indicate any use of a weapon.
Hathaway today said the Maine case was not prosecuted.
Burns, in a post on his Facebook page several weeks ago, alluded to the Waterboro case and asserted the charges against him were dropped about a year later after the responding officer was fired.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.