Crime in brief

STATE STREET: Weapons violation 

Madison resident Quincy Franklin was arrested for disorderly conduct while armed at Michelangelo’s coffee shop the morning of Jan. 13, according to a Madison Police Department statement. Franklin was having stomach problems and stopped at the coffee shop to use the restroom, the statement said. 

After occupying the bathroom for an extended period of time, one of Michelangelo’s workers knocked on the door and asked him to leave. Franklin exited the bathroom holding a knife and swearing, according to the statement. He then left the coffee shop, but appeared to have intentions of reentering, which led a worker to go outside and stop him. The statement said Franklin approached the worker with his knife, who then punched Franklin and took him to the ground. The worker’s thumb was cut in the process, it said. 

The suspect wanted the MPD to arrest the employee for attacking him, according to the statement. Police believe Franklin’s version of events is false and want him banned from State Street, the statement said. 

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he thought intoxication or mental health issues could have contributed to the suspect’s behavior. 

“The incident was bizarre in that this sort of attack doesn’t occur with any frequency,” he said. “I’m relieved that the injuries were minor because they potentially could have been more serious.” 

NORTH BASSETT STREET: Battery 

A 28-year-old Madison man was the victim of battery on the 300 block of North Bassett Street on Jan. 12, according to an MPD statement. A group of four or five attackers, some of whom the victim knew, knocked him to the ground, it said. The victim was taken to the emergency room. A friend was punched after intervening in the fight, but did not need medical treatment, the statement said. 

Verveer said MPD likely found out about the battery because it is protocol for the hospital staff to notify the authorities if a patient appears to be a victim of a crime. 

“It’s important for downtown residents not to be overly alarmed about [the] incident because it was not a random act of violence,” Verveer said. “It was a targeted attack based on a dispute between the suspect and the victims.” 

WILLIAMSON STREET: Battery 

According to an MPD statement, 20-year-old Jeremias Robertson was arrested after throwing a Portage man off the deck of Plan B, a dance club, and knocking the victim unconscious. The attack took place on the morning of Jan. 12 after the victim refused to give Robertson a cigarette, the statement said. 

The man was taken to the hospital to treat his head injury. The statement said a woman also tried to intervene, but was thrown down the stairs. She did not need to be hospitalized. 

UNIVERSITY AVENUE: Hit and Run Update 

A 20-year-old male was hit by a car while crossing the 600 block of University Avenue with his friends in the early morning of Dec. 30, according to an MPD statement. The driver of the car, Paul Magnuson from Sun Prairie, drove away from the crash without stopping or helping the victim. Magnuson arrived at the MPD station with his attorney Jan. 3, where he confessed to hitting the victim with his car, the statement said. It said police arrested Magnuson and charged him with failure to render aid at the scene of the crash.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said by the time Magnuson turned himself in, it was too late to see if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

“I’m relieved that the victim was not in a life-threatening situation,” Verveer said. “The victim was released from the hospital. I’m relieved he was not more seriously injured.”