VERGENNES — Vergennes police cited two city teens and a 2017 Mount Abraham Union High School graduate on Dec. 29 on charges related to the late Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning spree of car break-ins and vandalism on a number of city streets, most in the city’s southeast quadrant.
Cited into Addison County Superior Court, criminal division, on March 12 were Kyle Kingsley, 19, and Bernard Rich, 18, both Vergennes residents who graduated from Vergennes Union High School this past June, and 18-year-old Josh Hardy of St. George.
They were cited for a variety of charges related to the entry, breaking into, and/or theft of cash and a variety of items from 14 vehicles, plus vandalism to four that included smashed windows, damaged antennas and windshield wipers, and possibly engine damage to one.
Kingsley and Rich were arrested first and a number of stolen items were allegedly found in Kingsley’s car, according to police, including GPS units, binoculars, a camera, cash, electronic equipment, ice skates, a canvas bag and flashlights.
Hardy was arrested separately, and police said he was cited for possession of ammunition and other items stolen in Vergennes, ticketed for possession of marijuana paraphernalia, and issued diversion paperwork for being a minor in possession of alcohol.
Police alleged that during the course of the investigation Kingsley and Hardy admitted to being involved with other participants in the burglary of and $10,000 worth of vandalism to the Twin City Bowling Alley in Berlin on Dec. 18.
Police said on that day a number of individuals, allegedly including Kingsley and Hardy, broke into the bowling alley, stealing alcohol and damaging the structure and vending machines and computers inside.
City police said Kingsley and Hardy will face additional charges from the Berlin Police Department for those offenses, and that additional thefts from vehicles in the Barre-Berlin area are being investigated.