Vergennes Police Log: City police investigate recent car break-ins

VERGENNES — Vergennes police said they are actively investigating a series of thefts, almost all from unlocked cars, on four city streets early on Sunday morning.
In all, according to Police Chief George Merkel, 16 cars and one garage were entered on Maple Manor, Thomas Circle, South Maple Street and Booska Court. Technically, entering the garage would mean a burglary, not a theft, charge, he said.
Most of what was taken were small amounts of money, some jewelry and one GPS unit, among other items, Merkel said.
In other incidents between Sept. 19 and 25, Vergennes police:
• On Sept. 19 at the request of Auto Creek on West Street checked out an apparent illegal campsite and confiscated and disposed of a half-gallon of liquor, a syringe and bedding; police found no one there.
• On Sept. 19 helped Williston police by trying to find a Main Street resident; city police did not find him, but passed on information about his whereabouts.
• On Sept. 20 talked to the driver of a car reported to have been driven erratically on Route 7 and determined the driver was OK.
• On Sept. 20 responded to a report of a possibly suicidal individual on Walker Avenue and arranged for a family member to drive the person to the Counseling Service of Addison County in Middlebury.
• On Sept. 20 responded to a Main Street accident in which an elderly driver struck the front door of the Black Sheep Bistro.
• On Sept. 20 checked out an alleged violation of a restraining order on Main Street, but determined the violation could not be proven.
• On Sept. 20 helped deal with two loose goats in the woods near the Booth Woods subdivision; a homeowner agreed to hold onto them until their owner could pick them up.
• On Sept. 20 looked for a car reported to be driving through a new subdivision of West Main Street after dark with its lights off, but could not find it.
• On Sept. 21 checked out a report of a dog left in a car outside a Main Street business, but found no dog in the car.
• On Sept. 21 helped Vermont State Police by responding to a report that a cyclist had been struck by a vehicle on Jersey Street in Ferrisburgh; police learned there had been no car involved, but that a woman had fallen off her bike, and the Vergennes Rescue Squad took her to the University of Vermont Medical Center.
• On Sept. 21 called the public works department to remove dirt and debris that a truck had accidentally dumped in front of Champlain Farms on Main Street.
• On Sept. 21 took a report that a delivered package had been stolen from a School Street home.
• On Sept. 21 stopped a tractor-trailer truck for speeding on Main Street, and as well as issuing a speeding ticket, also issued a number of citations to the driver related to the condition of the truck, such as lights being out.
• On Sept. 22 took a report that a car had been struck by another while parked on Main Street.
• On Sept. 22 were told by VSP to be on the lookout for a tractor-trailer truck that had nearly caused an accident on Route 7 in Middlebury. Police pulled the truck over in Ferrisburgh, and during the stop another truck driver stopped and told police that the truck had passed him on a bridge near Middlebury while there was traffic oncoming. Police ticketed the driver for illegal passing and cited him for two violations on allowable time limits for operating the vehicle, and placed the truck out of service.
• On Sept. 22 sent the department canine to help VSP look for the occupants of a vehicle that had crashed on Route 7 and then fled the scene; the search was unsuccessful.
• On Sept. 23 helped VSP by responding to a one-car accident on Route 7 that left the car in a ditch. Police said the driver was unhurt and they had the vehicle towed.
• On Sept. 24 responded to a report of a man lying unconscious in the middle of South Maple Street. Police found him with a welt over one eye and blood on his face and said when he awoke he cursed them. Police said the man, whose blood-alcohol level tested at 0.239, was also belligerent to VARS personnel and to nurses at Porter Hospital, and they took him to the Act 1 detoxification facility in Burlington.
• On Sept. 24 stopped a car on Route 7 that was reported weaving over the center line and were told by the driver it was experiencing mechanical problems and was on the way to a repair shop.
• On Sept. 24 spoke with a man who alleged he was receiving harassing and threatening texts and calls, but determined the issue was more of a dispute and advised him to block the number.
• On Sept. 24 arrested Kelly Ann McAvoy, 26, of Vergennes on an outstanding warrant and lodged her at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility; police also issued her a civil citation for driving with a suspended license.
• On Sept. 24 cited Stephen Valade, 39, of Middlebury for driving under the influence of drugs after stopping his car on Route 7 following an alert to be on the lookout for a speeding vehicle being driven erratically.
• On Sept. 25 issued a no-trespass order to a woman who had refused to leave a New Haven Road resident and was insulting the occupant.

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