After spending more than a decade in prison after being convicted of raping a babysitter in Tisbury in 2011, David Thrift is back in trouble with the law across multiple states including the Vineyard.
Thrift is facing a new charge of assault with a dangerous weapon after his arrest at a Vineyard Haven apartment last month.
Thrift appeared in the Edgartown District Court by Zoom on Thursday afternoon seeking a reduction in his bail for the assault charge. Thrift, represented by attorney James Morse, also on Zoom, requested his bail be reduced from $950 to $300, arguing he has no prior assault convictions on his record and he consistently appears for probation and court dates — a statement that the defense pushed back against.
The judge ultimately ordered Thrift’s bail to be set at $1,500 and as of Friday, he remains in the county jail.
Assistant District Attorney Leigh Scalice representing the commonwealth opposed the bail reduction on Thursday, referencing Thrift’s alleged criminal activities since his release. Aside from the charges on the Island, Thrift faced criminal charges for property damages in Ohio on June 16, 2023, and in June 2024, he failed to register as a sex offender in Texas, according to Scalice.
The Island charges follow an incident that occurred on Island at a Vineyard Haven apartment with his girlfriend in March. Tisbury police officers responded to a “possible physical dispute,” as detailed in police reports. The report states Thrift, intoxicated on crack cocaine and alcohol, threw rocks, shook his girlfriend by the shoulders, threatened to kill the apartment owner, the apartment owner’s daughter, and his own girlfriend during an altercation that left the apartment door broken.
On Thursday afternoon the commonwealth countered with a request to increase Thrift’s bail to $1,500. The Judge approved the bail increase and Thrift has remained in the custody of the Dukes County Jail and House of Corrections, unable to post bail as of Friday morning.
Thrift was sentenced to to 10-13 years in in prison in 2011 at the Dukes County Superior Court, after pleading guilty on seven different charges, including the rape of a teenage babysitter.
No bail for violent offenders. Enough of this
No incarceration without conviction.
Lock him up and throw away the keys. Bad seed.
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