BRISTOL — Bristol police on July 23 arrested Joseph Albert Wedge Jr., 25, and cited him for simple assault, resisting arrest and simple assault on a police officer.
Police received a report that Wedge had assaulted a roommate. When police arrived, the found Wedge incapacitated by alcohol. When the officer attempted to take Wedge into protective custody, police said Wedge began to resist.
Police arrested Wedge after he reportedly assaulted a Department of Fish and Wildlife officer who had also responded to the call.
Between June 29 and Aug. 2, Bristol police also:
• Worked with Morristown police on June 29 to identify two suspects involved in thefts in Morristown and Bristol. Investigation revealed the suspects allegedly stole electronic equipment from Martin’s Hardware in Bristol in February and again on June 27. The same two suspects are believed to have stolen electronic equipment in Morrisville on June 28.
• Began investigating a report from an area health clinic on June 30 that parents were possibly misusing a child’s medication. The investigation is ongoing.
• Impounded a car driven by a Monkton teen on July 2 after police stopped the car for defective equipment. The driver’s license was suspended and the vehicle was not registered or insured.
• Took Gerald Ackert-Smith, 48, of Bristol into custody on July 3 after police received a report that a man was stealing vehicles from a parking lot near Bristol Fitness. Ackert-Smith was taken for an evaluation to Porter Medical Center, and later cited for operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent after another incident on July 6.
On July 6, a Garfield Street resident said she caught Ackert-Smith driving her neighbor’s vehicle. Prior to the arrival of police the resident also learned Ackert-Smith allegedly had taken cash from vehicles in the neighborhood, including her own. One of the neighbors complained when Ackert-Smith was seen back in the neighborhood a short time later. Police told that resident that they could not arrest Ackert-Smith as the theft was an unwitnessed misdemeanor.
• Responded to the National Bank of Middlebury on Main Street on July 3, where a man appeared to want to harm himself. The subject was taken into protective custody and transported by the Bristol Rescue Squad to Porter Medical Center.
• Responded on July 3 to a request for Stop Teen Alcohol Response Team (START) assistance from the Vermont State Police following reports of an underage drinking parking forming on Hunt Farm Road. Officers from the Bristol PD and VSP responded to an apartment there and issued citations for possession of alcohol by minors. Police also cited Johnathan Brown, 28, of Bristol for furnishing alcohol to minors. Kraton Chaloux, 18, of Bristol, who fled when the START team arrived, was later cited for criminal possession of a malt beverage.
• Took a report of vandalism on July 4 from the guest of a North Street resident. The guest found that the rear window of his vehicle was damaged overnight. No suspects were identified.
• Took a report from a North Street resident that on July 5 two vehicles in his driveway had been hit by about 10 eggs. No suspects were identified.
• Logged a report from the manager of Moovies on Main Street on July 5 that two windows at the business had been broken. No entry to the store was gained, and nothing other than the windows was damaged.
• Responded to a minor traffic crash on July 8 in the parking lot of American Legion Post 19. A Bristol man rear-ended a Salisbury woman’s car, causing minor damage to her vehicle. The woman reported a minor injury, was checked by Bristol Rescue, and was released.
• Arrested Kraton Chaloux, 18, of Bristol on July 9 on an outstanding warrant when he was stopped in a vehicle with defective equipment.
• Provided mental health assistance on July 10 to a Bristol man claiming to be suicidal.
• Responded to a traffic crash on July 10 on Main Street. A Bristol woman driving a green Ford hit a red Saab driven by a Bristol man, when she backed out of parking on the south side of Main Street. Neither party was injured.
• Took a report on July 10 of the theft of a homemade garbage can from a Mountain Street residence.
• Ticketed two men from St. Albans on July 10, one for having an open alcoholic container in a vehicle and the other for putting glass on the highway. The two men were passengers in a vehicle that had passed Dan’s Place on Main Street when one of the two men threw a beer bottle out of the car, smashing it in the roadway. A patron and the bar owner assisted the officer, who was in the bar making a safety check. When the officer returned to the village he found Dan had cleaned up the glass.
• Took a report on July 11 from a Lincoln woman whose purse was stolen from her vehicle. Her vehicle had been parked in the rear parking of Shaw’s and was locked, however the purse was left in plain view. An unknown person broke out a window to get the purse.
• Cited Bridgette Leopold, 57, into court for passing a bad check on July 11 after she allegedly failed to make restitution to a Bristol man to whom she had issued a $700 check. Police said that Leopold, owner of Becks Antiques, had received some antiques from the man with a promise to pay him later. Police report that she later gave the man a check for part of what she owed but the man found the check was no good after several checks with the bank.
• Responded to Shaw’s on July 12, where staff reported a man was trying to break into vehicles. The suspect was identified but no evidence was found to show the subject had either gained access to vehicles or taken anything. The subject denied trying to get into any vehicles.
• Logged a July 12 report from a Basin Street resident who said two men, reportedly from Alabama, had been at her door attempting to sell magazine subscriptions. No known solicitations of that type were known to be going on and the subjects were not located after a check of district streets.
• Recovered a missing person on July 13 from a Main Street apartment after Burlington police contacted the Bristol department. The subject came to the office to await pickup by a family member.
• Responded to the scene after a family member found Jonathan L. O. Brown dead in his apartment on July 14. Investigation at the scene ruled out foul play, but a final report is pending autopsy results.
• Issued a notice against trespass to a district resident’s family member on July 15. Police report that the resident is the sole guardian for his mother, who reportedly suffers from dementia, and the family member had been repeatedly going the residence and convincing his mother to give the family member money.
• Received a report on July 15 from Champlain Farms regarding the theft of alcohol from the store. A woman was identified from surveillance footage and will be charged with petit larceny when located.
• Received a report from Maplefields Mobil on July 15 regarding the theft of candy and store merchandise. Two teenage boys were identified from surveillance footage and issued notice against trespass for the store.
• Assisted Middlebury police on July 15 in locating a Bristol resident and recovering property allegedly stolen from a vendor at Middlebury’s Festival on-the-Green.
• Charged Kayla Wissell, 19, of New Haven and Melanie Martell, 18, of Bristol with simple assault on July 16 after investigation revealed they had assaulted a 20-year-old acquaintance. The victim allegedly was attacked while walking two small children on South Street. The victim was transported to Porter Hospital by a friend where she was treated for several injuries.
• Responded to a family disturbance at Kountry Trailer Park on July 17, where a woman was reportedly banging on the front door of a residence and threatening to harm herself. On arrival no domestic disturbance was in progress but the female was crying and upset. She was calmed by the officer and convinced to take medication her boyfriend claimed she had been refusing to take. The woman denied making any statements she meant to harm herself.
• Received a report on July 20 of a hit and run crash in the Rite Aid parking lot. A witness described the suspect vehicle as a grey Ford pickup with an extended cab. On July 21 another officer working the day shift noted a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle at a residence on Hewitt Road. The driver of that vehicle was identified and admitted backing into something in the parking lot but thought no damage had been caused. Police issued a ticket to the driver for improper backing.
• Arrested Jonathan Grace, 20, of Bristol and cited him for domestic assault on July 21 following a report from his girlfriend that he had threatened and strangled her. Grace was additionally charged with resisting arrest and simple assault on a police officer after he attacked one of the officers who responded to the call. The officer was injured and needed medical attention. Grace was lodged at the Addison County Sheriff’s lockup.
• Received a complaint from a South Street resident on July 23 that she had been assaulted by a neighbor. Investigation revealed the assault was a fight between the two over a debt. No action was taken.
• Received a complaint on July 24 from the National Bank of Middlebury, where a Blaise’s Mobil Home Park resident had reportedly defrauded the bank through the ATM. The bank asked that the subject be notified to contact the bank as soon as possible to make restitution or face prosecution. The message was delivered.
• Received a report of a gas drive off from the Maplefields Mobil on July 24. Police obtained a registration number and contacted a New Haven resident, who returned to the store and made restitution after reporting he thought his “speed pass” had worked at the store.
• Received reports of two gas drive offs on July 25 from Maplefields Mobil, one involving a white Dodge Caravan and one involving an unknown vehicle. Insufficient information could be obtained for follow up. No was action taken.
• Responded to a two-vehicle crash on Main Street at the traffic light on July 27. A Fayston man failed to stop for a red traffic light and collided with a truck operated by a Bristol man. The Bristol man and his passenger later reported minor injuries. The vehicle belonging to the Fayston man had to be towed from the scene. A ticket will be issued to the Fayston man for failing to stop.
• Took a report on July 28 from a Florida man, formerly of Bristol, who reported finding what he described as a shallow grave off Plank Road when he was last in Bristol, approximately two years ago. Bristol police advised VSP of this information.
• Warned a North Street resident on July 29 for violating Bristol’s open container ordinance after police were notified that the man was drinking a beer on the Maplefields Mobil property.
• Seized two tents, three backpacks and assorting camping gear from the Lord Prayer’s Rock on July 30. Three hikers later came into the office to report their camping gear stolen. They were found to be the owners of the seized camping gear and were advised it was illegal to camp on town property. The gear was returned to the hikers.
• Took a report on July 31 from a Massachusetts woman who called police to say she believed her ex-husband, a Bristol resident, was using drugs. The woman had heard this from third parties but wanted the police to be aware as the man has custody of their children and she was concerned for the children’s well being. The concern was documented.
• Found that George Sweet, 50, of Starksboro, who had been reporting in for daily Alco-Sensor tests per conditions of release issued by Addison District Court, failed a test. The Addison County State’s Attorney’s Office was notified and on their request a case was filed for violation of conditions of release.
• Took a report from a North Street resident on Aug. 1 that his two vehicles, parked in his driveway, were egged sometime during the night. One suspect was named.
• Warned an East Street resident for vandalism on Aug. 1 after the woman mounted a yard sale sign on a telephone pole at the corner of Main and North streets using large screws.
• Stopped a Bristol man on West Street on Aug. 2 following a report from Vergennes police of possible drunken driving. The subject was not impaired but was warned to stay away from a female subject in Vergennes at the request of Vergennes police. Bristol police also warned the subject for defective equipment. All four tires on his vehicle were bald.
• Took a report on Aug. 2 that a man drove away from Champlain Farms without paying for $20 worth of fuel.
During this period, Bristol police also issued 28 traffic and parking tickets, performed security checks at businesses 26 times, performed bar checks 23 times, and performed 45 court-ordered breath tests.