Michaels was a prisoner in Butcher Bay Correctional Facility Single-Max Cell-block A. Riddick first met him near Cozart brothers aka Torture Twins cell door, listening in on their current torture session. It's usually Michaels' job to clean up after the Torture Twins, which he hates to do. He reported the Torture Twins situation to Bulder, Bulder proposed to report it to higher personnel, but Michaels said that no one will miss Frances. Why he reported it to Bulder was, because he was hoping that Bulder will get someone else to clean up the mess this time, but Bulder reassured him that this is a job only for Michaels.
Michaels ratted on someone in cell A39 to Rust, who then through his connections got him locked up. The person in A39 swore a bloody revenge against Michaels, even going as far as promising to rip his heart out and stepping on it, rape his parents and then kill them, or eat his testicles.