VERGENNES — Vergennes police ticketed a Middlebury man for obstructing traffic on Oct. 22, an action they took after they said he was found standing in the middle of Route 7 in Ferrisburgh, stopping cars and asking for a ride home. The incident also marked the third time city police had interacted with the man in three days. Ticketed was Albert “Alpine” Bingham, 64.
Earlier the same day police were called to the Champlain Farms store on Main Street to deal with a man store employees said was being difficult and refused to leave. Police identified him as Bingham, and issued him a no-trespass order on behalf of the business.
On Oct. 20 police responded to the John Graham Shelter on Main Street to help shelter personnel deal with a man they said was disruptive, and police at that point said they told Bingham, who they said was not trying to seek assistance there, to leave the premises.
In other incidents between Oct. 19 and 25, Vergennes police:
• On Oct. 19 helped a motorist get into a locked car on Hillside Drive.
• On Oct. 19 received a tip about drug activity in the area.
• On Oct. 20 helped the Department for Children and Families remove a child from an East Street residence.
• On Oct. 20 helped a motorist with a flat tire in the Champlain Farms parking lot.
• On Oct. 21 checked a report of a suspicious noise in the New Haven Road area and determined it was ongoing work to expand the solar array there.
• On Oct. 21 received a tip about drug activity in the area.
• On Oct. 21 opened an investigation after being told that fraudulent accounts had been opened on a New Haven Road resident’s credit card number.
• On Oct. 21 checked out a School Street home because its owner reported evidence of a possible break-in; police found a sliced screen, but no signs of entry.
• On Oct. 21 issued a no-stalking order to a Main Street resident.
• On Oct. 21 accepted a green substance in a bag found by a resident near a Main Street apartment building; police are having the substance tested.
• On Oct. 21 helped Vermont State Police screen a driving-under-the-influence suspect in Panton.
• On Oct. 21 confiscated drug paraphernalia and issued a city ticket for paraphernalia possession at a Main Street traffic stop.
• On Oct. 21, acting on a tip from a Panton resident, ticketed one driver for operating without registration or insurance and with plates not assigned to the car, and another driver of a vehicle accompanying the first car for permitting the illegal use of the plates.
• On Oct. 22 helped VSP by responding to a downed utility line in Panton.
• On Oct. 22 referred a man seeking a relief-from-abuse order to family court.
• On Oct. 22 checked out a report of two cars racing on Monkton Road, but found nothing.
• On Oct. 23 took a woman who was walking down the middle of North Street and muttering to the station to meet with Counseling Service of Addison County personnel; she was taken home by family members.
• On Oct. 24 were told of a hit-and-run fender bender in the Champlain Farms parking lot.