BURLINGTON, Vt. -
Travis Laplant, 39 of Swanton, Vt., stood quietly in a Burlington courtroom Tuesday as he pleaded not guilty to five charges, including burglary and assault.
"This is an individual that caused a lot of mayhem in our community," said Burlington Police Deputy Chief Andi Higbee.
Higbee says problems with Laplant began at Henry's Diner late Saturday night.
There he says Laplant broke in and stole money to help feed his drug addiction.
They ID'd him from surveillance video.
Police say after Laplant became the prime suspect in the diner incident, finding him was priority number 1 but they weren't able to catch before Laplant struck again Monday night.
They say Laplant went into someone's car at a Champlain Farms gas station and stole a woman's purse while she was inside.
Police say the woman chased after him to a nearby intersection, where Laplant then punched her in the face.
That's when some nearby bikers got involved and chased him.
And would you believe, police say Laplant beat up a second person, all before someone called 911, something police say should've happened first.
"The last thing that we want to see is an encounter that becomes physically violent," said Higbee.
Police eventually tracked Laplant to a different gas station.
And even in custody the problems with him didn't end.
"He just spent some time damaging the wall in the interior of the holding cell," said Higbee.
But police are just glad to finally have Laplant there.
"Fortunately, at the moment he's where he needs to be to stop that behavior," said Higbee.
Laplant was held on $75,000 dollars bail.
He's due back in court next month.
If convicted he faces more than 25-years behind bars.
