NEW HAVEN — Vermont State are investigating several recent home burglaries in the area. Prominent among these is a burglary at a Shacksboro road home in Shoreham that occurred between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The victim reported to Trooper Adria Pickin that jewelry missing including several rings (engagement, wedding, and a ring belonging to the victim’s mother), a pair of gold earrings, two pearl necklaces and an opal ring/earrings set. The stolen items were valued at a total of approximately $2,000-$3,000.
There were no signs of forced entry and it is believed the subject used a spare key left out by the victim to gain access. It should be noted that there were other high-value items, including electronics, left out in plain sight inside the residence, but only the jewelry was taken.
Trooper Pickin is also investigating the theft of jewelry and other items from an Orwell home on that same day. Police said a Raymond Hill Road home was burglarized between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. that day. Items reported stolen were a gold pocket watch engraved with the initials “RBJ” in script font; a handmade hunting-style knife with a wooden handle with hints of turquoise throughout, possibly containing the initials “RWB”; several silver dollars; assorted jewelry; and prescription medicine. Not including the medicine, the value of the things stolen was estimated at $600-$700.
As with the Shoreham burglary, there were no signs of forced entry, and it is believed that the assailant picked the lock to gain access. Again, there were other high-value items and electronics left out in plain sight that were not stolen.
Anyone with any information on this crime is asked to contact Trooper Pickin at the New Haven Barracks at 802-388-4919. Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or by texting “CRIMES” (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS.
Meanwhile, state police early last week received a number of complaints of thefts from motor vehicles while they were parked in national forest access points along Route 125 in Hancock. On Sunday, Sept. 14, three reports of thefts from motor vehicles were taken from victims who had parked their vehicles in the Long Trail access point on Route 125 up from the Middlebury College Snow Bowl ski area. In each case a rock was used to smash out a window of the vehicle and the suspect(s) reached in and took easily accessed items that were on the seats. These incidents occurred sometime that day between 1 and 5 p.m.
On Monday, Sept. 15, two more complaints were taken from victims who had their vehicles broken into while they were parked in the Texas Falls recreation area, also in Hancock. The method of the theft was the same. These two thefts occurred between about 5:15 and 5:50 p.m. A brown or tan Honda or Hyundai vehicle was seen in the area around the time of the thefts.
This came after state police received reports that same weekend of thefts from cars parked at trailheads in Ripton, Salisbury and Leicester.
Troopers remind people parking their cars in recreational areas to not leave any valuables in their vehicles, and to keep items hidden out of sight.
Anyone with information on these Hancock thefts or who saw any suspicious activity or vehicles during the time period of these thefts is asked to call Sgt. Craig Gardner or Trooper Chris Blais at the Royalton state police barracks at 802-234-9933.
Separately, a Ferrisburgh man will have to appear in court to answer a charge of aggravated assault after he allegedly knocked another man unconscious at the Addison County fairgrounds early Sunday morning.
Vermont State Police report that on Sunday, Sept. 21, at approximately 22 minutes past midnight troopers responded to the fairgrounds for a report of an assault. When they arrived the troopers discovered that 35-year-old Joshua Bird of Franklin had been taken by ambulance to Fletcher Allen Health Care with a severe head injury.
Troopers said their investigation showed that after a brief struggle Nicholas Thomann, 26, of Ferrisburgh tried to restrain Bird and body slammed him into the ground. The body slam knocked Bird out and caused other head injuries.
A citizen in the crowd who was an EMT immediately started to administer aid to Bird, police said.
Bird was admitted to Fletcher Allen’s Intensive Care Unit for observation.
Thomann was cited to appear in Addison County Superior Court, criminal division, for aggravated assault.
In other recent activity, state police:
•  On Sept. 16 asked for the public’s help in finding two Monkton boys, ages 13 and 14, whom they described as “runaways.” They went missing from their Monkton home Monday evening, and were believed to be in the Monkton, Bristol or Vergennes areas. Trooper Crick released a statement at 6:24 p.m. on Sept. 17 saying the young men were returned home safely and thanking members of the public who had submitted information on the possible whereabouts of the boys. She did not release any details on where they were found.
•  On Sept. 17 began investigating a break-in at a Barnes Road home in Whiting that reportedly had occurred between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. that day. The homeowner said several items were gone through but reported nothing stolen.
•  On Sept. 17 received a report of a theft on Monkton Road in Monkton. The caller told police that alcohol from the refrigerator in a camper had been consumed and a flashlight was stolen sometime between 7 a.m. on Sept. 14 and 6:30 p.m. on the 17th. Anyone with information on this is asked to contact state police.
•  On Sept. 18 at 7:17 a.m. went to Oak Hill Lane in Leicester for a reported violation of an abuse prevention order. Police said Travis Carosella, 26, of Castleton violated an abuse prevention order and his conditions of release by being near a residence and having contact with an individual that lived there. Troopers arrested Carosella, cited him for those crimes, and took him to court, where he was ordered to Marble Valley Correctional Center for lack of $1,000 bail. Brandon police assisted at the scene.
•  On Sept. 19 were told of the theft of a motorcycle on Route 30 in Whiting. A 40-year-old Rutland man told police that his bike broke down and he left it in a pull-off at around 9:30 a.m. that day. When he came back to get the motorcycle at 2:30 p.m. it was missing. The motorcycle is described as a red Harley-Davidson made in the early 1990s. Anyone with information on its whereabouts is asked to contact VSP.
•  On Sept. 20 at midnight responded to a motor vehicle crash on Dog Team Road in New Haven. The trooper cited the driver, identified as Nathan D. Fallon, 29, of Vergennes, for driving under the influence of alcohol.
•  On Sept. 21 began investigating a report that someone had stolen multiple firearms, scopes, tools and ammunition from a Mountain Road home in Monkton. Among the items stolen were a .50-caliber BMG sniper rifle, an M1 carbine rifle and several other firearms. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact state police.