By Michael Bielawski
A man who has repeatedly been in Vermont headlines via police reports apparently sought and was denied mental health hospitalization by the state.
The Burlington police report from Tuesday, Sept. 3, states, “The court reported that the Vermont Department of Mental Health will not provide hospitalization for Mr. Ibbotson.”
The court judge imposed bail at $500 because Ibbotson has a significant number of charges and is a risk of flight. The judge wants a plan to protect the public as well as Ibbotson, and informed the defendant that he needs a release plan or residential treatment.
VDC has highlighted that this man has been arrested 69 times, which does not include all of his 230 encounters with police. As recently as about two weeks ago Patrick Ibbotson, 37, appeared in the VDC headline, “Suspected repeat offender Ibbotson held without bail – finally”.
The report states that local police had, “become a familiar figure in Burlington’s law enforcement circles” and “Over the past year, Ibbotson has been involved in nearly 230 encounters with police, resulting in 69 arrests, many for violating conditions of release.”
In another VDC report from just about a week earlier on Aug. 11, he was again in trouble with law enforcement. It states, “A Burlington man with 230 police encounters was released by a judge after police had arrested him twice within 24 hours – once for disrupting services at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Burlington.”
Just days later he was arrested again. “At 12:41 PM Tuesday, Patrick Ibbotson, 37, was seen exiting the Marketplace Parking Garage in possession of alcohol – a violation of his conditions of release. When Ibbotson heard a cop call his name, he darted into oncoming traffic. Additional officers responded and were able to take Mr. Ibbotson into custody.”
Ibbotson also has been a familiar figure at the St. Paul’s United Methodist Church on Buell St., where leaders say he told a group of parishioners that he could kill them all.
A pattern in Vermont
A week ago WCAX did an investigative report on if there is a pattern of releasing non-violent repeat offenders into the communities of Vermont.
The report states, “In Vermont, any offense with a maximum prison term of more than two years to life or that may be punished by death is a felony. Any other offense is a misdemeanor. So, many recurring retail theft crimes and violations of conditions leave people on the street racking up charges. And many people in the community say they’re fed up with it.”
The report uses Ibbotson as an example of why policies need to change. It states, “That includes Patrick Ibbotson, 37, a suspect you’ve heard us talk about a lot on the news.” The owner of Kru Coffee on Church Street in Burlington is quoted in the report saying “I have ushered him [Ibbotson] out many times.” The story continues that Ibbotson wore a shirt that he allegedly stole from the store in court on at least one occasion.
VDC has reported that Ibbontson has a reputation regarding the Kru Coffee shop. The report states that “Burlington police say Ibbotson is also the prime suspect in a felony burglary that took place at Kru Coffee Collective August 12, 2024, after he was last released by the court on August 10.”
In another story from WCAX from January of 2024, they reported “Vermont’s courts have seen a revolving door of cases involving low-level criminal offenders with drug and mental health issues. Channel 3 received an advanced copy of a report by the Vermont Judiciary Commission on Mental Health and the Courts that attempts to address the problems.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle