VERGENNES — Vergennes police on Jan. 7 cited a 65-year-old resident of a North Street care facility for simple assault by physical menace after he allegedly threatened harm to his fellow residents.
Police said Ronald Ethier, a longtime resident of the home who they said is under the care of the Counseling Service of Addison County, was taken to the Chittenden County Correctional Center and held briefly without bail. CSAC found him new lodgings, they said.
City police on Jan. 8 also helped at the major White Street apartment building fire (see story in Jan. 12 edition). Chief George Merkel said two officers knocked down a door to wake and then evacuate a sleeping resident.
Between Jan. 5 and 11, Vergennes police also continued to crack down on car owners who left their vehicles on city streets between the hours of 2 and 6 a.m. in violation of the city’s winter parking ban. In all, they issued 14 tickets to violators: seven on Jan. 5; one each on the nights of Jan. 7, 9 and 10; and four on Jan. 11.
In other action during those seven days, Vergennes police:
•  On Jan. 5 checked out a report of a suspicious car in the People’s United Bank parking lot and discovered an individual waiting to meet a relative.
•  On Jan. 6 told a man to stop unwanted communications with a female city resident.
•  On Jan. 7 checked out a report of a suspicious car in the Ferrisburgh park-and-ride lot and found a tired driver taking a nap.
•  On Jan. 7 ticketed a truck driver for speeding on Main Street and for falsifying his driving log; the driver also lost his right to drive for 12 hours on the second citation.
•  On Jan. 7 were asked by Rutland police to serve citations to a city resident, but could not find him.
•  On Jan. 8 helped Vermont State Police at the scene of a three-car accident with injuries on Route 7 in Waltham.
•  On Jan. 8 heard from parents that they were worried their daughter’s ex-boyfriend could pose a threat to her and them.
•  On Jan. 11 began investigating a case in which a man smashed a car window on North Green Street, an incident they said was apparently triggered by a dispute that began at the City Limits bar.
•  On Jan. 11 checked a report of a suspicious car that had been seen around town and determined there was no problem.
•  On Jan. 11 took a complaint from a woman who recently moved to Vergennes from Massachusetts that her child had been molested in that state; police notified the Vermont Department of Children and Families and authorities in Massachusetts.