By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Sometimes even a fake gun can cause you trouble, and this was the case earlier this month when a Springfield woman was arrested for allegedly brandishing a BB gun and making threats to another individual.
Michelle Pollard, 55, was arrested on Jan. 8 at 9:10 p.m., and charged with aggravated assault, criminal threatening and reckless endangerment.
According to a report by the Springfield Police Department, officers responded to a citizen dispute where Pollard allegedly brandished a gun. An investigation found that Pollard was in possession or a “realistic looking BB gun and allegedly made threats to the victim.”
“It’s not what it actually is, it is what the person perceives it to be because that is what actually causes the fear,” said Springfield Police Chief Jeff Burnham.
Burnham related it to getting sneezed on with COVID, saying that even if someone didn’t have the coronavirus, people were terrified, especially if immunocompromised.
“It is the same idea,” he said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, people are terrified, and people shouldn’t be put in that position. This is the kind of stuff that creates trauma that people have to live with or deal with in a mental health type way.”
Pollard was cited to appear at the Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division, Windsor Unit on Jan. 9
A Springfield man was also arrested for aggravated assault that allegedly injured the victim where medical assistance was needed.
Jathniel Weiss, 35, was arrested for aggravated assault on Jan. 5, according to a report by the Springfield Police Department.
At 6:07 p.m., the Springfield Police Department responded to School Street in North Springfield for a 911 hangup. Officers reported that upon arrival it was determined that “an assault may have occurred.”
“Further investigation led to officers developing probable cause to arrest the above-named defendant for assaulting another individual, who required medical care,” the report stated.
Weiss was later taken into custody and brought to the Springfield Police station to be processed. He was cited to appear in Windsor County Superior Court, Criminal Division, on Jan. 6, and due to a lack of $500 for bail, was lodged at the Southern State Correctional Facility.