Florida man punched by Mike Tyson on JetBlue plane is identified as a 36-year-old criminal

The man who was punched by Mike Tyson after allegedly harassing the boxing legend aboard a JetBlue airplane at the San Francisco Airport has been identified – and he has a lengthy criminal record.

Melvin George Townsend III of Punta Gorda, Florida, has served 20- and 15-month prison sentences for a variety of crimes, including possession of Oxycodone, burglary, grand theft, fraud, and trafficking stolen property, according to a records search.

The 36-year-old stole a trailer in 2018 by trespassing and hitching it to his pickup, reported TMZ, which was the first media outlet to identify him. 

Townsend was last released from a Florida prison in July of 2020 after serving 15 months of a 25-month sentence for use of a fraudulent personal ID.

Video from Wednesday’s assault shows Tyson punching Townsend before the JetBlue flight had taken off from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale, leaving the Florida man with a bloody forehead.

However, a representative for the Brooklyn-born boxer claims he was reacting to Townsend, an unruly passenger who had been harassing him and actually threw a water bottle at Tyson.

‘Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat,’ a representative for Tyson told DailyMail.com in an email.

Townsend has served 20- and 15-month prison sentences for crimes including grand theft

Another video from the flight shows the aftermath of the incident, with the man sporting traces of blood on his forehead

Mike Tyson was seen repeatedly a punching a fellow passenger on a flight from San Francisco to Florida on Wednesday night, leaving the man with a bloodied forehead

San Francisco police did detain two individuals from the flight, but declined to identify either. They did pass along the video to San Mateo County police, who have yet to respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.

‘On Wednesday April 20, 2022, at approximately 10:06 p.m., San Francisco Police officers assigned to the SFPD Airport Bureau were dispatched to a physical altercation onboard an airplane located at the Domestic Terminal of the San Francisco International Airport,’ read a San Francisco police statement provided to DailyMail.com.

‘Officers arrived and detained two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident. One subject was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. That subject provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation. Both subjects were released under 849(b) of the California Penal Code pending further investigation.

‘The SFPD is aware of video that possibly captured the incident, which surfaced following the initial investigation. That video has been forwarded to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, which has investigative jurisdiction on this incident.’

Following Wednesday’s altercation, Townsend’s identity slowly began leaking on social media