Suspect had 170+ police encounters as of 2022, including attempted murder

A Burlington man was arrested Wednesday morning,  December 3 after the Burlington Police Department’s Emergency Response Unit executed a search warrant at a North Avenue residence, concluding a narcotics investigation involving multiple controlled drug purchases.

According to police, officers conducted the warrant at about 11 a.m. on December 3 at 95 North Avenue, the location of a COTS shelter for homeless people. The operation was the culmination of a BPD Drug Unit investigation that documented several controlled purchases of cocaine from the suspect.

Inside the residence, police located 48-year-old Tyrone Bryant of Burlington. Bryant was taken into custody and charged with multiple counts of cocaine sales, as well as possession of cocaine.

Investigators said Bryant’s criminal history includes one prior failure to appear in court, three felony convictions, and five misdemeanor convictions. He is also currently on probation through Burlington Probation and Parole. Police said Bryant was lodged at the correctional facility after he was unable to post $5,000 bail.

Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact Detective Joseph Congdon at 802-540-2220. Police encourage community members to report suspected drug activity by calling 802-540-2420 or submitting an anonymous tip through the Burlington Police Department’s online tip form.

A September, 2022 news report by News 5 said that as of then, Bryant already had had 170 police encounters. On Sept. 19 2022, a 35-year-old woman walked into the Burlington Police Department lobby reporting that she had been stabbed in the chest. She was rushed into surgery and survived, while her 59-year-old mother was treated for cuts to her hand.

According to police, the woman’s mother first identified Tyrone Bryant- then 44 – as the attacker. Bryant, who police say has had more than 170 prior interactions with law enforcement, was previously in a relationship with the victim and was under court-ordered conditions not to contact her.

The investigation initially stalled when the victim declined to identify her assailant and her mother later retracted her statement amid conflicting accounts from witnesses. A follow-up inquiry by the department’s Domestic Violence Prevention Officer ultimately tied Bryant to the assault, police said.

Bryant was taken into custody on Sept. 23 and as of the September, 2022 News 5 report being held without bail on an attempted second-degree murder charge.