VERGENNES — City police on Dec. 15 arrested John Coleman, 47, of Vergennes and charged him with four crimes in connection with domestic dispute that day at a Scovel Lane residence with a woman they described as his girlfriend.
Police allege that Coleman at various points during the incident locked his girlfriend out of her residence, grabbed and ripped her clothing, blocked her in the kitchen of her home with his body to prevent her from leaving her residence, and attempted to grab her cellphone to prevent her daughter from calling police.
City police charged Coleman with aggravated disorderly conduct, unlawful restraint, unlawful mischief, and interfering with access to emergency services, and they lodged him at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility.
In other action between Dec. 9 and 15, Vergennes police:
On Dec. 9:
• On a Panton Road traffic detail saw no violations.
• Ticketed four vehicles on Main Street in violation of the city’s overnight winter parking ban.
• Investigated a report from a Battery Hill resident that she had received a bill from a security company that she had never done business with; police learned the billing was a mistake.
• Cited Northlands Job Corps student Zamanee Smith, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y., for lewd and lascivious conduct. Police allege he inappropriately touched a female student.
On Dec. 10:
• Issued a no-trespass order to a local male who had made a threat to inflict deadly harm to teachers at Vergennes Union High School. Police said they determined he made the threat, but he did not have the intent or the access to firearms to carry it out, and that the male was upset about an incident at the school involving someone he was close to. Later that day, police conducted a security check at VUHS and other city schools due to the threat, and they did so again on Dec. 11 and 12. A longer story ran in the Dec. 12 edition of the Independent.
On Dec. 12:
• Ticketed one driver during a traffic detail on West Main Street.
On Dec. 13:
• Helped Vermont State Police deal with an impaired driver at the junction of Routes 7 and 22A.
• Investigated a report of an assault involving two Northlands students and determined no crime had been committed.
• On a traffic detail on Main and West Main streets issued two tickets and two warnings.
• Contacted a Main Street resident on behalf of the Washington County State’s Attorney office; police said the resident was a witness in a case.
• Sent the department K-9 unit to help Middlebury police with a Court Street armed robbery investigation.
On Dec. 14:
• Helped state police process an impaired driver at the city station.
• Ticketed a vehicle parked on East Street that was in violation of the city’s winter parking ban.
• Saw no violations during a traffic detail on West and Canal streets.
• Helped a motorist whose vehicle had gone off Main Street.
• Cited Casey C. Senecal, 29, of Vergennes for driving under the influence of alcohol on Basin Harbor Road in Ferrisburgh. Police alleged his blood-alcohol content was 0.126%; the legal limit for driving is 0.08.
• Ticketed five vehicles parked on Main Street that were in violation of the city’s winter parking ban.
On Dec. 15:
• Issued two warnings to owners of cars parked illegally on South Water Street during a church service, an action taken following a complaint.   
• Warned one driver during a traffic detail on West Main Street.
• Investigated the theft of a lawn tractor from the lawn of a King Street residence.