The man who attacked and tried to strangle a NYPD cop on Thursday night in New York is a serial cop hater and a psychiatric-facility patient, who has been arrested on multiple occasions for various crimes including assaulting cops. He was also convicted of assaulting an officer and an EMT in Florida earlier this year.
Levon Wheeler was arrested on Thursday night along with other protesters and has been charged with allegedly attacking a cop in Noho. However, getting arrested seems to be regular affair for the 30-yaer-old man. He has already served a long term in jail this year itself.
Repeat Offender
Wheeler was arrested by police along with 18 other protesters including 13 men and 6 women during the clashes on Thursday night when he tried to put a chain around the neck of an officer and tried to strangle him. All others were released except for Wheeler who now faces felony charges.
However, this is not his first offence this year. Wheeler served 87 days behind bars for roughing up the two first responders in Orlando last March, law enforcement sources said. This is just one of the many crimes that include stealing and burglary. In fact, Wheeler has had as many as 29 prior arrests in four different states and has a career that of a seasoned criminal.
Seasoned Criminal
Wheeler's criminal record can be traced back to 2004 when he first got into trouble with the law. He was arrested for the first time for stealing a pair of boxing gloves from a Manhattan sporting goods store in 2013, according to authorities. Over the next seven years he has been charged on 28 different occasions and has been charged on several counts that include burglary, stealing and physically abusing people.
However, Wheeler, a resident of a Wards Island psychiatric facility, is a serial cop hater and of the 29 arrests he has had so far, he has been accused of assaulting officers on numerous occasions. Most of his arrests took place in Massachusetts.
The reason behind hating cops although isn't known but authorities have confirmed that Wheeler isn't mentally stable and is a psychiatric-facility patient. The charges against him this time are more serious and if found guilty he could end up serving a long term behind the bars this.
Wheeler has been slapped with charges of assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct, police said.
