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The man who tore up a McDonald’s in Manhattan with an ax and was released without bail was caught – again – for allegedly spraying graffiti and stealing a bicycle in Brooklyn.
Michael Palacios, 31, of the Bronx, was arrested after trying to run away from police when they caught him spraying graffiti on Sunday, the New York Post reports.
Palacios, who made headlines last month for his axe-wielding frenzy in Manhattan, reportedly chased a $3,500 bicycle in front of a local coffee shop on 69 Second Avenue to try to get away before police took him into custody.
Despite his repeated violations in the city, Palacios was again released without bail as the Big Apple continues to struggle with rising crime rates.
Michael Palacios, 31, of the Bronx, was arrested for spray painting graffiti and stealing a $3,500 bicycle just a month after brandishing an ax at McDonalds
Despite his repeated violations, Palacios, who is often pictured with his bike on his social media, was released without bail.
After a confrontation in the restaurant, Palacios pulled out an ax to chase away the men he was fighting with before using it to scare other customers.
Palacios then walked out with his ax and bicycle – as if nothing had happened. When police arrested him on Sunday, he tried to run off with a bicycle he had stolen
On September 16, Palacios was filmed threatening customers at McDonald’s on Delancey Street after allegedly being turned away by a young woman.
Footage of the ensuing frenzy showed Palacios threatening customers while swinging the ax, breaking windows and intimidating onlookers, after a verbal altercation that quickly turned physical.
“So basically he got into a fight with a girl, and then the girl turned him down,” Ruben G, an Uber Eats delivery driver who witnessed the fight, told The New York Post on Sunday.
“She didn’t want to talk to him,” Ruben continued, adding that the woman’s disinterest did little to dissuade the man.
“He kept attacking her,” the delivery man said. “Then the guys she was with came in.”
The example described by Ruben roughly describes the moment when the widely seen footage begins, in which the various young men attack the suspect and push him against a garbage can.
The individuals proceed to strike Palacios, as evidenced by the highly graphic imagery, which is surprisingly untouched by the barrage of blows.
to appear to accept the hits in a show of strength and superiority, a grinning Palacios eventually becomes enraged and takes the ax from a bag he was carrying.
At that point, the other customers apologized – but Palacios, outraged, pushes forward, brandishing the weapon at them while threatening other guests as well.
“They started arguing. That’s what it all led to,” Ruben recalled, adding that the suspect had asked for the young woman’s phone number.
In the footage of the incident, a young woman who appeared to be part of the customer group appeared to stop the budding feud, which continued to escalate until police were called.
A dispute at a New York McDonald’s turned physical, with the three men hitting and punching Palacios who stood up, apparently unaffected by the attack
However, the fight took a different turn as video on social media shows the ax-wielding man ranting at a McDonald’s on Delancey Street on the Lower East Side.
In the footage of the incident, a young woman who appeared to be part of the customer group appeared to stop the budding feud, which continued to escalate until police were called. It’s not clear if the woman is the same person the delivery person was referring to
Palacios throws the ax down at several tables of the restaurants that have been smashed into small pieces.
He also smashes the ax against a glass panel that instantly shatters on impact, before cornering one of his previous attackers who then begs for mercy as he huddles against a wall.
He then knocks one of the men he was fighting out of his chair – while threatening other frightened guests, and at one point yells, “Don’t be afraid of me, be afraid of him!”
After the eruption, Palacios fled on his bicycle but was arrested a short time later by police on nearby Ludlow Street, the driver said. The police were able to track him down in part thanks to the widespread footage of the incident.
Palacios, who was on the street hours after his arrest, is charged with criminal mischief, threats and criminal weapons possession.
For his latest crime, Palacios was charged with grand theft, two counts of criminal mischief, possession of stolen goods, making graffiti and possession of graffiti tools.
Overall violent crime in the Big Apple is up 33.6 percent from last year
Palacio has been released without bail for both arrests, a pattern symbolizing the high crime rates that consume New York City.
In the Big Apple, police reported 378 homicides, down 13.5 percent from last year, but overall crime is up 32.68 percent.
New York City has also seen rapes rise from 1,137 cases last year to 1,249 so far this year, an increase of nearly 10 percent.
The number of robberies has also increased by 36.5 percent and the number of assaults and burglaries by 15.9 and 31.5 percent respectively.