BRISTOL — The Bristol Police Department reported last week that in early December it had tied up loose ends on a September burglary in which more than $1,000 worth of machinery was stolen.
The machinery was stolen from a workshop on North Street in Septemberand allegedly sold to a resident of Kountry Trailer Park. When the Kountry Trailer Park resident reported a stolen table saw, which later was found on Liberty Street, he asked about other recent machinery thefts. That’s when the police discovered the machinery was resold.
Police Chief Kevin Gibbs said his department identified two suspects and continued their work on this case. On Dec. 3, they finally wrapped it up with the arrest of Eric Loyer, 20, of Bristol on the charge of burglary and possession of stolen property. Police did not expect to charge the other suspect.
For more than a month Loyer was able to avoid the police.
“We knew he was at home, and anytime we went there looking for him, he wouldn’t answer the door,” Gibbs said. “So a warrant was requested.”
After obtaining the warrant, the police came across Loyer in a parked car, where they were able to arrest him. He was placed in the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility with bail set at $10,000.
Gibbs reported that Loyer’s grandmother posted bail the next day, and on Dec. 6, Champlain Farms reported Loyer for trespassing. He was previously issued a trespass notice and thought it only applied to the store, said Gibbs. Loyer had just left the Bristol police department after providing a DNA sample and was talking to someone in the Champlain Farms parking lot. He reportedly didn’t know this action constituted trespassing.
In other Bristol police activity between Nov. 28 and Dec. 10, the police:
•On Nov. 28, received a report from a Munsill Avenue resident that a family member had stolen food and tobacco from her. When the police asked the woman if she wanted them to issue a trespass notice, she said no.
•On Nov. 28, assisted the Vermont State Police with a stopped car near Plank Road, where cocaine paraphernalia — which Gibbs described at several three-inch long straws full of a “white powdery substance” — was found.
•On Nov. 28, received a report from a Bristol Elementary School staff member that the individual’s driver-side window was smashed, but nothing was stolen.
•On Nov. 29, were informed that a Cubbers Restaurant deliveryman’s car was broken into. When the car was parked behind the restaurant, just off Main Street, a burglar smashed in the front window with a tool or a fist and reportedly stole a bag containing $95. Police are investigating.
•On Nov. 30, Maplefields reported that two individuals stole alcohol, wine and candy totaling at least $30. Police expect to get a VSP trooper who knows some suspects to look at the store video to see if he can identify the individuals involved.
•On Nov. 30, were given a wallet that was found on Silver Street in Monkton. The wallet was returned to its owner.
•On Dec. 1, received a complaint from All Star Fuel off Elm Street of a bad check worth $368. Police action is still pending.
•On Dec. 2, responded to a call at 4 a.m. when a food delivery person found an open door at Bristol Elementary. The open door was locked, and the officer searched the interior. No activity or disturbances were found.
•On Dec. 2, a West Street resident called to have his friend who was staying with him removed because the friend’s drinking was getting out of control.
“We can’t remove people just because they drink too much,” said Gibbs. “It was suggested they contact the Sheriff’s Department and the Addison Family Court for eviction proceedings.
“It’s probably good for people to know that if you allow someone to move in with you — say they’re going to stay with you for a few weeks — they are now a resident,” Gibbs continued. “They are essentially a tenant, and you can’t just have them removed by the police. The only way you can legally have someone removed who has overstayed their visit is to have them evicted. Now if someone just spends the night and refuses to leave, that’s a bit different.”
•On Dec. 3, received a report from a Champlain Farms employee who overheard a conversation behind the store, which involved the sale of heroin.
•On Dec. 4, received a report of a white female driving off from Maplefields without paying for $43.73 in gas. The red car didn’t have license plates and the woman could not be identified from the surveillance footage.
Gibbs said the police have previously approached the gas station about shutting down outer pumps and requiring customers to prepay as a theft prevention measure. According to Gibbs, the police department has suggested to R.L. Vallee, the company that owns the gas station, that the station shifts to a prepay system on the pumps nearest the cashier, but the company is unwilling.
“We’re debating whether or not we want to continue taking calls for drive-offs in the case when they aren’t making any effort,” said Gibbs, who mentioned that some Chittenden County departments have taken this measure in order to lighten their caseloads.
•On Dec. 5, received a report from a resident of a hit and run, which damaged the entire length of the passenger side of the resident’s car.
•On Dec. 5, charged Mark Currier, 24, of Bristol with false pretenses for purchasing a cell phone with a credit card from his former employer, Maplefields.
Gibbs said that Currier bought a new cell phone and charged it to Maplefields account, signing the charge slip “in full view of the video camera” with his own name, not the name on the card. Gibbs went to Currier’s house, but he wasn’t home.
Later that evening, state police contacted Bristol police to deal with a complaint about a man beating his dog. The man’s neighbor, who filed the complaint, was none other than Currier. So an officer went to deal with the man who was beating his dog and afterward strolled over to Currier’s house to cite him for false pretenses.
•On Dec. 5, responded to a call on Stoney Hill because someone thought two women were about to get into a fight.
“Apparently it was just one woman who had just gotten a flat tire and the other woman was just talking to her while she was waiting to get help,” said Gibbs.
Police warned the woman with the blown tire for littering after she threw the blown tire off to the side of the road.
•On Dec. 6, received a report of a lost passport from a Bristol woman who had just come back from a walk. An officer found it in the park while doing a foot patrol.
•On Dec. 8, received a report from Shaw’s supermarket that Jacob Bachand, 19, had stolen beer.
“Apparently he walked into Shaw’s, grabbed four beers and walked out like he owned them,” said Gibbs. The chief said Bachand was cited for retail theft.
•On Dec. 9, were called by a woman who was jumped by a stray dog at Mount Abraham Union High School while walking her dog. No blood was drawn.
•On Dec. 9, were contacted by Heather McEvilla’s probation officer. The 35-year-old Vergennes woman told the probation officer that she was being held against her will. The Bristol police located her with a male partner, and the officer determined that she apparently was doing nothing against her will. A Bristol officer told her to contact the probation officer and get back to Vergennes. She was subsequently arrested and returned to a correctional facility because she was not at her furlough address.
•On Dec. 10, received a call about an aggressive dog that bit a child at Kountry Trailer Park. The child was not seriously injured and the issue of what to do with the dog, who was a repeat offender, was sent to the selectboard.