Crime & Safety

Charge Says Fridley Man Threatened Bus Driver with Mock Finger-gun

He said he would blow the driver's brains out, the prosecutor alleges.

A Fridley man is facing a charge of making a terroristic threat against a Metro Transit bus driver.

According to the Hennepin County Attorney's office, Michael Anthony Francis told the driver he would blow his brains out. The occasion for the May 10 threat at 48th Street and Chicago Avenue S. in Minneapolis, the criminal complaint alleges, was when the driver told Francis he had to leave the bus.

Francis "made a hand gesture with his fingers as [if] he had a gun," according to the complaint, which also claims that Francis hadn't paid his fare when he boarded the bus downtown.

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The driver "took the threat seriously," the complaint says.

Francis' criminal record includes several convictions for transit- and weapon- related offenses, according to the state courts database. He was convicted of failing to pay transit fare in 2002 and 2005, and of interfering with a transit officer in 2009. In 2005 he pled guilty to second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

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Francis' public defender was unavailable to return a request for comment on Friday.

Metro Transit Police Chief David Indrehus made this statement about the case:

Metro Transit Police take all threats to drivers with the utmost seriousness. Not only does a threatening action towards a driver jeopardize the safety and well-being of him or her, by turn it also jeopardizes the safety and well-being of every customer aboard the vehicle and other nearby vehicles, pedestrians and property. Metro Transit Police are among a number of groups who have pushed to increase the legal penalties for assaults and threatening actions towards transit drivers in this legislative session.

Fare evasion is a misdemeanor crime punishable by a $180 fine – this message is posted on buses and trains (see attached). The guidance for bus drivers is to state the fare clearly one time if it is not paid when a customer boards. In order to protect the safety of the driver, should a person board without paying in full, a driver is advised to permit this without challenge. If the person has a history of fare evasion, the driver is advised to notify Metro Transit Police. Police track habitual fare evaders through a monthly trespass list which is posted for drivers and supervisors.

In this particular case, Mr. Francis boarded Route 18 downtown and rode the bus several miles to a terminal point on the route. This bus had finished its trip and would now be out of service – this is the circumstance that prompted the driver to ask Mr. Francis to get off the bus, it was not because Mr. Francis had not paid the fare. The bus driver did everything as he should have in this situation. As you see in the complaint, this request was met with a threat to the driver’s life. The driver then contacted Metro Transit Police. Mr. Francis has had multiple contacts with Metro Transit Police prior to this incident. He was also added to the trespass list due to this incident.

Every bus and train as well as rail stations, Park& Rides, transit centers and other locations within the transit network are equipped with video recording equipment that is invaluable to police investigators in identifying suspects and prosecuting offenders who commit crime in the transit system. In 2010, there were 17 felony-level assaults on bus drivers. Metro Transit Police made arrests brought charges in 15 of those cases due to the combination of solid police work and video technology.


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