VERGENNES — Alcohol issues were among the cases that kept Vergennes police busy between Aug. 20 and 26, including issuing two citations for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and helping a man they found passed out in the road with a significantly elevated blood-alcohol count.
On Aug. 20 police stopped a vehicle on First Street because its owner had an expired license and at that traffic stop cited Laurie Murphy, 64, of Vergennes for DUI.
On Aug. 25 police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked after hours at the Champlain Valley Christian School off New Haven Road. Police cited the occupant, Scott A. Chase, 28, of Middlebury, for DUI.
On Aug. 24 police were told that a man had passed out on a city street and that a relative was taking him to a Maple Manor home. Police followed and administered a breath test that revealed the man had a BAC of 0.382. Police and the relative agreed for the man’s safety police should take him to the Act 1 detox facility in Burlington.
In other incidents between Aug. 20 and 26, Vergennes police:
On Aug. 20:
•  Responded along with city firefighters to a spill of about half of a 55-gallon barrel of diesel fuel at Champlain Farms; a state hazmat team was notified.
•  Heard a complaint from the owners of a vacant West Main Street home that it had been entered, vandalized and burglarized; police said they would step up patrols.
•  Helped a motorist get into a locked car on North Street.
On Aug. 21 took a report that a toolbox was stolen out of a pickup parked on Green Street four days earlier.
On Aug. 22:
•  Heard from a woman that her stepmother might be throwing away belongings of the complainant’s late father. Police said the stepmother denied the allegation, and they determined the dispute was a civil issue.
•  Responded along with the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad (VARS) to a reported suicide attempt at a city home; it was determined she was well enough to stay home with family members.
On Aug. 24:
•  Served a no-stalking order to a female resident of the John Graham Shelter.
•  Responded to a report of a male driver harassing a woman and a child walking on a West Main Street sidewalk, and then listened to conflicting stories from two parties involved in divorce proceedings; the woman was pregnant and complaining of stomach pain, and VARS transported her to Porter Hospital.
•  Heard from a First Street resident that another resident had refused to return two bicycles; the call proved to be a civil dispute, police said, because the second resident said the complainant owed her money. Police unsuccessfully tried to mediate and might do so again.
•  Checked a report of two dogs left in a car on Main Street barking, but found no issues.
•  Told a caller reporting a Facebook scam how to report it online to the FBI.
On Aug. 25:
•  Checked a report from a Main Street resident that someone might have tried to enter a home through a back porch, but found no one.
•  Heard a complaint that Hillside Drive apartment residents were smoking marijuana indoors contrary to facility policy; police told the caller to inform the landlord.
•  Took a loud music complaint about a Second Street residence and were told the homeowners’ association would handle it.
•  Helped Vermont State Police with a domestic dispute case in Waltham.
•  Directed traffic around a disabled truck on North Main Street.
On Aug. 26:
•  Briefly resuscitated an unresponsive man in the Whispering Pines campground before VARS transported him for care; police said the man later died.
•  Searched unsuccessfully for a motorcycle reportedly speeding on Green Street.
•  Dealt with the theft of a laptop from a Main Street apartment; police said a woman’s granddaughter took the computer and had refused to return it, and they retrieved it from a nearby apartment and issued the younger woman a no-trespass order.