A 36-year-old man is in police custody after 43-year-old Richard Medina was fatally stabbed on Church Street in Burlington just before 2 p.m. Wednesday.Burlington Police said in a press release that Louis Fortier surrendered to police at the crime scene, and that he is the only suspect in the stabbing. Multiple witnesses named Fortier as the killer, and police say that “video evidence” supports those claims.
Police recovered a knife at the crime scene on the intersection of Church Street and Cherry Street, according to the release.
Police say Medina was pronounced dead at the University of Vermont Medical Center about a half-hour after the stabbing. Medina was well-known to police agencies in Chittenden County; Burlington Police say he had 125 interactions with police since 2013 for incidents involving assault, intoxication and mental health calls.
Both Medina and Fortier, the alleged killer, were “transients,” police say.
Fortier has multiple prior arrests on his record, including for “assault with attempt to murder, armed bank robbery, assault on a police officer, aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, felony assault [and] carrying concealed weapons,” according to Burlington police.
Charges against Fortier were pending as of Wednesday evening.
Authorities say anyone who witnessed the attack but has not yet spoken to police should call Burlington Police Detective Jamie Morris at 802-540-2254.
